SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS

10 Godsmen, Bleakers, Guvners, and Takers

Rich Baker
Discover the secrets of the PLANESCAPE settings
factions.

22 The Demiplane of Shadow Edward Bonny

Add this land of twilight nightmares to your AD&D
game.

32 Planar Personalities Michele Carter &

Bill Slavicsek
Meet four NPC residents of Sigil, the City of Doors.

42 You Never Know Wholl Youll Meet

Larry Granato
Use these encounter lists to spice up your planar
campaign.

FICTION
72 Harvesting the Boneflowers Joe Luniewicz
From dust we come, to dust we return.

DRAGON Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is published
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2 JANUARY 1995
 REVIEWS
50 Role of Books John C. Bunnell
Browse through a selection of Arthurs.

57 Eye of the Monitor Jay & Dee

Join our stalwart reviewers through their adventures
customer support.

88 Role-playing Reviews Rick Swan

We proudly present in-depth reviews of Chaosiums
NEPHILIM* and White Wolfs WRAITH* games.

112 Through the Looking Glass Bob Bigelow

Get Bobs views on the latest figures.

FEATURES
8 First Quest Lester Smith
Does Les even remember his first role-playing experience?

85 Sage Advice Skip Williams

This time around, Skip muses on magical enigmas of the
AD&D game.

94 Rumblings The staff

Catch up on news around the gaming industry.

96 Series Magic Steven Schend

Our chronicler gets a visit from Khelben himselfalmost.

100 Elminsters Notebook Ed Greenwood

Study the ambitious youngster, Aldreth Fireshar.

DEPARTMENTS
4 Letters 103 Libram X
6 Editorial 106 Dragonmirth
67 Forum 108 Gamers Guide
78 Convention Calendar 120 TSR Previews

each subscription is printed on the mailing label of
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address for the delivery of subscription copies must be
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DRAGON 3
 What did you think of this issue? Do you have
a question about an article or have an idea for a
new feature youd like to see? In the United
States and Canada, write to: Letters, DRAGON
Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147,
U.S.A. In Europe, write to: Letters, DRAGON
Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, Cherry
Hinton, Cambridge CBl 3LB, United Kingdom. If
you wish your letter to be published, you must
sign it. We will not publish anonymous letters.
We will withhold your name if you request it.
More Masque
material?
Dear Dragon,
Yes! Thank you, TSR, Inc., for publishing the
RAVENLOFT Masque of the Red Death cam-
paign set. Ive been waiting for a gothic horror
campaign setting that we are somewhat familiar
with, and now we have it in Gothic Earth. Now
the big question is: Does TSR plan to make this
an ongoing product line or is this boxed set all
well see? I would love to see Masque become a
full-fledged line. Cmon, TSR, dont let a really
cool idea go to waste!
Jimmie Earls
Chesapeake OH
I passed Jimmies letter on to William W.
Connors, the primary designer of the Masque
set (and the author of the Psychic Proficiencies
article in DRAGON issue #212 for use in Masque
campaigns). His reply follows: Dale
Thanks for the kind words, Jimmie. Both
Anne Brown and myself worked very hard to
make Masque an exciting and interesting alter-
native to the traditional RAVENLOFT campaign.
(For those who arent familiar with it, Masque
essentially is a stand-alone campaign using the
AD&D game and RAVENLOFT setting rules,
but set on an Earth of the 1890s.)
Masque wasnt intended to be anything more
than a one-shot product. But, because of the
positive responses weve gotten from gamers
like yourself, weve added a second product to
the schedule of 1995 releases: The Gothic Earth
Gazetteer. This product is due out in December
of this year and will provide players and DMs
with an incredible amount of information about
the people and events that made news in the
1890s.
As for other products, thats up to you. We
dont have any on the schedule right now, but if
we get a few more letters like yours (hint! hint!),
well be sure to respond. In other words, if you
and your players want more Masque products,
youre going to have to earn them. Also, keep
your eyes on the pages of both this magazine
4 JANUARY 1995
and of DUNGEON Adventures for possible
Masque articles and adventures.
William W. Connors
Gaming on Krynn
Dear Dragon,
I have been reading the DRAGONLANCE
novels for nearly a year now. Ive thought that
playing in the world of the Companions of the
Lance would be fun. I was wondering what
books would be good to have in order to play.
Ben Thompson
Salt Lake City UT
The one absolutely essential game product for
any DRAGONLANCE campaign is the Tales of
the Lance boxed set (TSR product #1074). This
$20 set contains all youll need to get a Krynn
game campaign off the ground, Ben. You also
may want to check out the Players Guide to the
DRAGONLANCE Campaign (TSR product #2143,
$15) that compiles all the information that
DRAGONLANCE setting players need without
giving any DM secrets. Have fun! Dale
Beginners only?
Dear Dragon,
Ive been playing both the D&D and AD&D
games for eight years now. Over the last two or
three years, Ive noticed a change in TSR, Inc.s
products. When I started playing, there were
many high-level modules available. Now TSR
seems to be catering to beginning gamers only.
While I appreciate the need to bring new blood
into the hobby, is it really necessary to neglect
the needs of those players who have already
bought and enjoyed many TSR products?
Mark J. Beeley
No address given
While bringing new people into the role-playing
hobby certainly has been one of TSRS goals in
recent years (and a goal that I heady applaud, by
the way), I disagree with your charge of neglect.
TSRs Games Department does produce fewer
modules than eight years ago, but much of the
responsibility of presenting high-quality adventures
for characters of all levels belongs to DUNGEON
Adventures. Wolf Baur does his best to publish
adventures for a variety of PC levels in each issue
of that magazine.
TSR has produced some terrific high-level
adventures in the recent past. Look for the
adventure, Temple, Tower, Tomb (TSR product
#9448, $6.95), published in 1994. It contains a
trio of deadly scenarios for PCs of 7th-12th
level, all very much in the spirit of the killer
dungeons TSR became famous for in the early
1980s. The DRAGON MOUNTAIN adventure
boxed set from 1993 (TSR product #1089, $30),
is a huge, incrediblv nasty adventure for PCs of
levels 10-15. (For more details, the DRAGON
MOUNTAIN adventure was reviewed in
DRAGON issue #200.)
Many of TSRS campaign settings have outstand-
ing potential for high-level adventures. Ive always
wanted to take a high-level, magic-rich party of
lawful and good PCswith at least one holy sword-
bearing paladininto the domains of the
RAVENLOFT setting and conduct a guerilla war
against the various Darklords. I think such a
campaign would be a blast, full of action, tension,
and machinations. The SPELLJAMMER, DARK
SUN, and PLANESCAPE campaigns all handle
high-level PCs very well.
TSR is publishing a veritable torrent of materi-
al in 1995 suited for high-level action. Available
in July of this year will be the BIRTHRIGHT
campaign setting. This setting allows PCs (re-
gardless of level) to be the ruler of a domain. No
more must your PCs be in the service to an NPC
ruler-the PCs are the rulers. (lts good to be
the king.) The Labyrinth of Madness 64-page
AD&D game adventure, available in August, is
another tribute to the classic dungeon-crawl
modules we all love to hate. The High-Level
Handbook is a 192-page hardcover book, availa-
ble in September, that is devoted entirely to
maintaining a high-level AD&D game campaign.
Other options also exist for those AD&D game
veterans who are feeling a bit jaded. Try a variant
campaign such as the Masque of the Red Death
(mentioned above) or the COUNCIL OF WYRMS
settings. Or, pick one of the AD&D games Histori-
cal Reference source books and develop a cam-
paign from the material therein. Role-play a Viking,
a Celt, a Spartan, a Crusader a Roman, a Muske-
teer; or a paladin of Charlemagne.
Dont neglect your own imagination, either
Garnersalmost by definitionare creative
people. Flex those creative muscles. Create the
kind of adventures youre looking for The
AD&D game is flexible enough to challenge
characters and players of any skill level. Take
advantage of that. Dale
Here it comes!
Wondering what TSR is about to do
next? Turn to TSR Previews in this
issue and find out!
 One of the benefits of work-
ing for TSR, Inc., is that I get a choice in
the type of calendar I want for my office.
This year I chose the desk blotter style.
Every year I choose the desk blotter style.
Its not that I need all of those parallel
lines for scheduling my appointmentsno,
my requirements are much more practi-
cal. I need that large white rectangle as a
target for my desk clutter. From halfway
across the room I can fling a pink While-
you-were-out note and get it within those
commanding black vinyl corners three out
of four tries.
When I first moved into my new office
with its custom counters and its impres-
sive skylight (with which I issue Skylight
Weather Reports for the dwellers of the
Cubular Village), I thought about going
with the datebook-style calendar. The desk
looked so sleek in its uncluttered glory, so
contemporary, so 90s. But, alas, it also was
so unfocused. A week from now, it will
take some effort to sift through all the
clutter to see if next Thursday is the
twelfth or the thirteenth (its the twelfth
watch out for Friday the 13th). But, for
today, that large white rectangle beckons,
January 1995 boldly emblazoned across
the top.
Whoa, hold on! Can it really be January,
1995, already? George Orwells 1984 was
set in a future time that is now more than
ten years in the past!
George wasnt off by much. Hardly a day
goes by any more without some Orwellian
concept making the news. Computers
threaten our privacy, audit our tax re-
turns, and offer us endless variety in ways
to pass our hours in entertainment. Were
plugged into the Net, talking on cellular
phones in our cars, and faxing messages
from home while nuking our dinner. But
even George Orwell couldnt predict that
DRAGON Magazine would survive to
enter its 20th year, And, like any 19-year-old,
we intend to stay up with the trends and
be a player in the future.
6 JANUARY 1995
Since 1976, DRAGON Magazine has been
part of the growth of a new form of enter-
tainment. Kim Mohan talks about the early
days, when the magazine was a giant
errata sheet. At that time, TSR was creat-
ing new products so fast that a lot of rules
were published with holes in them large
enough to drive a truck through. DRAGON
Magazine filled those holes. Time passed,
the game products became more complete
and comprehensive, and this magazine
turned its focus to other areas. Book and
game reviews, short fiction, humor, cover-
age of miniature figures, and computer
game reviews were all added into the mix,
We supported our readers with conven-
tion listings and gave them a voice through
Forum. All this, and rules expansions too!
Throughout almost two decades of pub-
lishing, DRAGON Magazine has been the
largest, most celebrated magazine of its
type. Now, having survived the agonies of
our adolescence, this year seems like a
good time to take a hard look at ourselves
and chart our course over the ever-
changing landscape of the hobby. This is
where you come in.
The future of role-playing entertainment
appears as seamless and uncluttered as my
office counters once were. New styles,
new technology, and new thinking are
taking these games into areas that we
could barely imagine just a few short
years ago. It will be within the pages of
this magazine that you will be presented
with the latest information and challenged
by the best games available. And much as
that blotter-style calendar focuses my
activities, were creating a new target to
focus this magazine on. That target is, as
its always been, you, the reader. But these
days youre a rapidly moving target.
Send us your thoughts, your opinions, or
your concerns about the future of gaming
and this magazine. Well review those
comments, organize them as well as we
can, and integrate them into future issues.
It is our goal to present you with a new
and exciting DRAGON Magazine at around
the time of our 19th anniversary this
summer. If you take the time, make the
effort, and participate in our focus group,
youll be rewarded with the knowledge
that you have been instrumental in chang-
ing the look of gaming.
Thanks!
Send your comments to:
DRAGON Magazine
c/o Counter Intelligence
P. O. Box 111
Lake Geneva WI 53147
Or, fax your comments to (414)248-0389
Attn.: DRAGON Magazine
Counter Intelligence.
Or, send them via e-mail to:
tsr.mags@genie.geis.com
Attn.: Counter Intelligence.
 FIRST QUEST is the title of TSR, Inc.'s
Audio CD Introduction to Role-playing Game,
This series is a feature where veterans of
role-playing describe their first experiences.
in the hobby.
I dont really remember the first time I
played a role-playing game. Theres just
the vaguest recollections of a stream bank,
and somebodys character getting bitten
by a giant tick because the DM decided the
guy was being greedy. My wife tells me
that she was playing a halfling, but I dont
recall my own character at all. In fact, I
only vaguely remember my wife being
there. (Sorry, Honey.)
In retrospect, it seems odd not to re-
member that session. After all, Im fasci-
nated by gamingso much so that Ive
made it my profession. I enjoy writing in
convention bios that Ive made an occupa-
tion of a preoccupation. And considering
that I had a wife, children, and a steady
job for years before starting a gaming
career, it ought to be obvious that this
devotion is not merely a temporary whim.
(By the way, lest anyone be worried, I still
have the wife and children.) So it seems
strange that my first role-playing experi-
ence should be so forgettable. It begs the
question why I ever played again, let alone
became an addict.
Maybe there is a clue in what I do re-
member of that first time. I recall the DM.
And, of course, the giant tick. And the
stream.
The stream is significant, I think, in that
it is a visual memory. For me, a major part
of the enjoyment of fictionwritten or
role-playedis in the mental images it
creates. I think there is no greater compli-
ment for a game master than to be told
The adventure seemed so real, I could
picture just what was happening. That
fragmentary image of the stream bank in
my memory carries with it a good feeling,
a glimpse of an imaginary world that I
want to spend more time in. And therein
lies one reason for my addiction.
The giant tick plays its part in that it was
so unexpected, and yet so appropriate.
Now that I think about it, I recall that we
had slain a hill giant (interestingly enough,
I dont remember the combat at all), and
the greedy fellow had searched the giants
cave for treasure. Unsatisfied with what
he found, he searched again, then outside,
and finally began rummaging through the
skins the giant wore. Thats when the DM
decided to punish him, with a giant tick. I
hadnt thought about the possibility of
8 JANUARY 1995
What memories. . .
by Lester Smith
giants being infested with overlarge bugs,
but in retrospect it seemed so right. Yet it
was evident that the DM had just invented
that detail. His setting had grown a bit in
response to a character action, giving us
all a peek at how much larger than any
one of us a role-playing game world could
become.
But it was only a peek, because the
dominant thing I remember about that
first session is the DM. As I recollect, there
was a sense of his having invited us by for
a glimpse into his imagination. In those
early years, it was a pretty common atti-
tude that the DM was a performer, calling
the players together to be entertained by
his world. The trouble was, that made the
PCs secondary to the DMs vision, serving
more as our interface with his world than
as personalities in their own right. Of
course, it wasnt long before we began
taking over by portraying characters vivid
enough to demand attention, thereby
seizing joint authority for the stories that
evolved.
My earliest vivid memory of role-playing
when it really all began coming together
was some months later. At the time, it was
just me and the DM. I played Raedel Pine-
haven, an elven fighter-mage leading half a
dozen hirelings on periodic forays into a
recently discovered dungeon. I vividly re-
member one room in particular: a cob-
webbed dining hall with doors all around
the walls and a gong standing on a dais at
one end. From my map, one of the doors
seemed to match up with a passageway back
to the surface, so Raedel sent the NPCs
through it, remaining behind long enough to
throw a dagger at the gong. When it hit, a
door across the room flew open and a horde
of skeleton warriors clattered through,
swinging rusty swords. By the time they got
across the room, Raedel had fled to meet his
friends topside. At the next session, I asked
the DM if the group could purchase lantern
oil by the barrel at a discount, and some
rope to make a harness for carrying it be-
tween four people. With a puzzled look, he
assented, and Raedel led the party right back
to that dining hall, where he poured the oil
all over the floor in front of the skeletons
door, then hit the gong. Again, the door flew
open, and out ran the skeletons, only to slip
and fall in a tangled heap. Quickly, Raedel
dropped a torch into the oil, burning them
to ashes. The DM was pleasantly surprised
by the tactic. But he did insist that I make a
Saving Throw to keep Raedel from losing his
eyebrows in the initial flash. I failed. I should
have said Raedel tosses the torch instead of
drops it.
Most memorable about the campaign,
however, were the NPCs accompanying
Raedel. He had a thing for one of them
Mistress Goldleaf, an elven sorceressbut
the DM played her as a bit standoffish.
Their slow-growing relationship added
considerable life to the adventures, An-
other NPC was a surly fighter named
Barat, who tagged along just for the trea-
sure to be had. He had an annoying habit
of holding Raedel personally responsible
whenever anything went wrong. One time
when deep in the dungeon, we had been
cut off from our entry route and were
looping back toward the entranceat least
according to the mapbattered and bleed-
ing from a host of encounters, and just
hoping to make it back out alive. Unex-
pectedly, we stumbled upon a cache of
weapons and armor, including one full set
of plate. Raedel warned Barat that it might
be dangerous, but of course the guy put it
on, and of course it turned out to be
cursed, though we didnt find out until
later. We got out of the dungeon without
another encounter, and a week passed
before Raedel heard that Barak was look-
ing for him. It seems he hadnt been able
to remove the armor since first putting it
on. Thinking (erroneously) that I had
heard something about cursed armor
falling apart when struck in anger, I came
up with a plan. Raedel asked Barak to
meet him in a local tavern, with Mistress
Goldleaf secreted at a booth there. While
Raedel and Barat talked at the bar, she
used a push spell to nudge Barats arm,
spilling his drink all over a bruiser stand-
ing next to him. A brawl ensued, but to
Raedels horror the armor didnt fall off;
Barak was just getting beat upa lot.
Raedel cast a sleep spell on the place to
stop the fight, dragged Barak out, left him
some money, took Mistress Goldleaf, and
headed for distant lands. It was a fitting
end to the campaign, and somewhere in
the back of my head, those two elves are
still exploring that world, hand in hand.
 Listen, berk. You might think youve got
the dark of what the factions are about,
but theres more to em than meets the eve.
Theyve got secrets within secrets, and the
poor sod who crosses a factolll find him-
self lost, and lost fast. Now, you seem like a
decent basher, and it would be a shame if
you got put in the dead-book without even
knowing why you got there. So, pay atten-
tion, and you may learn something that
could keep your soul and body together
by Rich Baker when you walk the streets of the Cage.
Artwork by Tony DiTerlizzi
Factions
Therere thousands of leagues, circles,
conspiracies, and alliances on the Great
Road, but there arent more than a few
dozen factions, and theres only fifteen that
are known in all the planes. Each faction
stands for somethinga bodyd have to be
completely Clueless not to know thatbut
there arent many cutters who have the
dark of what the factions do about their
beliefs and what belonging to a faction
actually means.
If a cutters a factols man, he lives the
belief of his faction. The Ciphers empty
their heads of thought. The Bleakers em-
brace howling insanity. The Mercykillers
hound lawbreakers into their graves. But
that dont mean that every Cipher spends
his day contemplating his navel, or that
10 JANUARY 1995
every basher wearing the badge of the Red
Death does nothing except pursue crimi-
nals. See, therere different levels of associ-
ation with each of the factions, and the
truth of things is this: most cutters wear
the colors and live the belief while going
about their own lives.
Most bashers you meet on Sigils streets
are namers. Theyre sometimes called the
file, or factioneers. Namers are cutters
who wear the colors but keep a distance
from the factols plottings. Theyll gladly
get in a brawl over their badge, but theyll
rarely shed blood for their colors. When
namers can, they help each other out. May-
be they let the factions bloods crash in
their kip, or maybe they keep their ears
and eyes open and pass news along. The
point is, they keep their involvement at a
minimum unless it serves their purposes to
get in good with the factol.
If a namer doesnt want to do something
for his faction, he can tell his fellows to
pike it. Usually, he can get away with it.
Hed better not come around asking for
help later on, though. A lot of the factols
only ask a cutter once, and if he doesnt
march to their tune, hell never become a
high-up.
When a basher enlists in a faction full-
time, hes called a factotum, or faction-
man. A lot of sods think that factotums are
just guides and messengers, but thosere
only the most visible kind of factotums.
Many more factotums are soldiers and
scholars, diplomats and enforcers, and
knights of the post who all work for the
factol. In fact, any basher who considers
being a faction member his primary em-
ployment and use of time is a factotum.
Generally, all factions are short on facto-
turns; its easy to find namers to wear the
colors, but its hard to find someone wholl
drop what hes doing to carry a message to
Ribcage, or maybe undertake a little cross-
trading for the factols benefit. Factotums
have to take orders from the higher-ups in
their faction, but the factions watch out
for their factotums and make sure theyve
got the jink and savvy to get a job done.
Each faction has a different way of making
factotums out of namers.
The rarest kind of faction-man is the fac-
tor, or factols man. The factors are the
high-ups of the factions. They command
strongholds and oversee operations, and
councils of factors usually govern most of
the factions relations and activities. In
some factions, the factors stay invisible;
they disguise themselves as factotums of
some type or another. Other factions, like
the Guvners, like to put a name and title to
each of the factors. When its time for a
new factol, its usually one of the factors
who ends up taking the job.
Faction secrets
So, you think you have the dark of it
now? Well, dont think you know all you
need to know to deal with the factions.
See, the factions pass on more than a set of
colors and an attitude to their namers and
factotums. Factions are about knowledge
and philosophy, after all, and theres few
pieces of knowledge more handy than
spells no one else has seen, or darks no one
else can learn. The low-ranking bashers
the namerswont know much more than
you would, but the high-up factotums and
factors have been initiated into the deep-
est, most dangerous darks the factols
know. In the Cage, knowledge is power.
Most of this chant is common sense. Any
sod on the street knows that Ciphers know
things about how to move and how to act
faster than a snakes strike. Everyones
seen Dustmen deal with undead, or a
Doomguard in a fight. But these arent the
only tricks the factions have up their
sleeves. There arent many namers who
learn these darks; the factols like to get
their hooks in a cutter and be sure of his
loyalty before they call him a factotum and
trust him with a new secret. And in most
cases, the bloodll have to demonstrate his
loyalty many times to earn the more pow-
erful darks the faction trusts him with.
Athar
The Lost have a lot of enemies in the
Cage. There aint many cutters wholl ad-
mit to thinking like they do. After all, who
knows when a sod might need a little di-
vine aid? An Athar sure wont see any..
Wearing the Athar colors is bad enough,
but the factotums of the Lost have to learn
a trick or two to help themselves when
other folks might turn to a power for help.
In the Athar, factotums are called
athaons. A namer can become an athaon
by participating in a hidden ceremony in
the walls of the Shattered Temple. Its said
that an athaon has to bring three objects,
books, or symbols imbued with the magic
of the so-called powers to this ceremony
and destroy them there. (Magical items
usable by priests, relics, or holy writings
will do.) Once the namers done that, hes
sworn into the ranks as an athaon.
Athaons can get room and board from
any namers of the Athar. In addition, the
factorsll keep him busy with assignments
designed to increase the power of the
faction and work against those sods who
meddle in the name of imaginary powers.
Most low-level athaons are used as guards
and messengers, or technical experts. Mid-
level athaons (4th-7th level) are used as
special envoys, independent operatives, or
supervisors.
Athaons receive a special saving throw
bonus of +2 against priest spells cast by
clerics, proxies, or servants of any of the
powers. They know that its all a sham and
place their trust in themselves. This bonus
also extends to the spell-like abilities of
creatures such as devas and baatezu who
serve a power.
By 9th level, most athaons are nearing
selection as a factor and elevation to the
inner circle of the Defiers. Factors of the
Athar gain a special obscurement that
protects them from the observation of
powers and their servants. Priests, divine
servants, and even the powers themselves
using spells or spell-like powers to locate
or inquire after an Athar factor must
make a saving throw versus spells or have
their efforts fail automatically. Spells or
abilities this Athar obscurement counters
include detect evil, detect invisibility, ESP,
know alignment, locate object, clairvoy-
ance, clairaudience, magic mirror, contact
other plane, sending, ensnarement, legend
lore, demand, foresight, augury, detect lie,
divination, reflecting pool, magic font, find
the path, exaction, and other such spells.
Its thought that since the Athar dont
believe in powers, the powers and their
servants have a hard time affecting them.
Believers of the Source
Godsmen believe that every sod out
there can be a power someday. Its easy to
laugh at em, but theres the unsettling fact
that sometimes Godsmen do things that
cant be explained. None of the other
factions believe the Godsmen are actually
becoming deities, and say that theyre
using magical items to achieve these ef-
fects. The Godsmen pay no attention to
these nonbelieversthey know theyre
right.
Godsmen namers who want to become
factotums undertake an apprenticeship
beneath a more experienced character
12 JANUARY 1995
who shows them the ropes. The appren-
ticeship varies widely from individual to
individual; some mentors almost ignore
their charges, leaving it to the apprentice
to keep up with them, while others take
their duties very seriously and insist on
daily lessons or tasks. When the mentor
feels that the factotum candidate is ready,
he takes his protege before a Godsman
factor who evaluates the candidate with
tests, puzzles, or challenging tasks. The
tests are said to be tailored to the candi-
dates fears and weaknesses.
Factors of the Godsmen are selected
from the most experienced and powerful
factotums (10th level or higher) after a
secret ceremony or test of some kind in
the Deep Ethereal.
The Godsmen spend a lot of time in the
Ethereal Plane, studying the formation of
demiplanes, and they learn their way
around the Gray Sea. Godsmen factotums
are trained in recognizing color curtains
and automatically know what plane a
curtain of vaporous color leads to. They
make excellent guides in the ether; Gods-
men factotums reduce travel times by one-
third, and Godsmen factors reduce travel
times by one-half. Because they are at-
tuned to the misty world of the Ethereal
Plane, they learn to detect the approach of
enemiesGodsmen factotums gain a +1
bonus to surprise checks on the Ethereal.
Godsmen factotums sometimes can be
found with magical stones called source
tokens. These stones look like cloudy gray
pebbles with swirls of darker matter in-
side. The holder of a source token can
enter the Ethereal Plane at will from any
other point in the multiverse, but each
token only works once before disappear-
ing. Its said that source tokens are manu-
factured in a secret forge in Sigils Great
Foundry, and theyre only given to facto-
turns who have a specific mission for the
faction.
Bleak Cabal
Bleakers dont see themselves as insane,
despite everything everyone else says
about them. Its all the other sods whore
deluded. The Cabal picks its factotums
carefully; the difficulty of their beliefs is
more than most sods can take. Prospective
factotums must serve six months in the
Gatehouse, looking after the barmies,
before they are accepted and assigned to
other duties.
One of the unusual darks about the
Cabal is the fact that therere many wiz-
ards and scholars among their ranks.
Characters of high intelligence find a
strange logic in the Bleakers teachings.
Most of the factotums and factors of the
Cabal are wizards, and the Cabal has
access to a number of rare and dangerous
spells developed by its members. (Two of
these special spells are described here, as
examples.) The Cabal jealously guards the
knowledge of its spells, passing them on
only when a factotum has proved his value
and loyalty in many important missions.
Despair (Enchantment/Charm)
Wizard spell
Level: 4 Components: V,S
Range: 30 yards CT: 4
Duration: 1 rd./level Save: Neg.
Area of Effect: 2d4 creatures in a 20 X 20
square
Mages of the Bleak Cabal developed this
spell to share their point of view with
their enemies. When this spell is cast, 2d4
sentient creatures (Intelligence 3 or better)
in the area of effect must make a saving
throw versus spells or lapse into a despon-
dent depression as they realize the hope-
lessness and folly of their beliefs. Victims
of despair are unable to attack, cast spells,
move, or even engage in basic activities
such as eating or drinking. Everything just
seems pointless. The effects last for one
round per level of the caster.
Creatures suffering from despair dont
bother to defend themselves, so opponents
can automatically strike, disarm, or bind
them without resistance. However, when a
creature is damaged or bound, it may
attempt another saving throw versus
spells to shake free of the spell effects.
Primes and Independents resist the effects
of despair, since theyre not committed to
a philosophy. They gain a +2 on saves
versus this spell.
Howl of Pandemonium
(Conjuration/Summoning)
Wizard spell
Level: 6 Components: V,S,M
Range: 0 CT: 6
Duration: Special Save: Special
Area of Effect: 30 radius or a cone
60 X 20 at its end
This spell enables a mage to channel the
screaming winds of Pandemonium
through his own body, allowing him to
emit a numbing howl that incapacitates
anyone nearby. The spell lasts as long as
one round per level of the caster, but
ceases if the howl is not maintained for
that length of time. (The howl must be
maintained for at least one full round to
be effective at all.) The effects linger after
the spell ends, lasting as long as the howl
was maintained. The wizard can take no
other action than standing still and howl-
ing to maintain the spell. When the wizard
casts howl of Pandemonium, he has the
option of channeling the spell into a cone-
shaped area, or simply affecting all crea-
tures within 30 feet.
All sound-based attacks are negated by
this spell. Even a banshees wail or an
androsphinxs roar would be drowned out
by the howl. All creatures in the area of
effect are deafened and disoriented by the
spell. Communication of any kind is impos-
sible, and the victims suffer a -2 penalty
to attack rolls and saving throws. Any
creature trying to approach the caster
must save versus spells to be able to get
closer, and any nonmagical missile fire is
deflected by the force of the howl.
 In addition to the above effects, crea-
tures whose Hit Dice or levels are less
than the casters must save versus spells or
become confused. Roll a d10 for those
who fail their save and refer to the list
below:
1: Wander away for duration of effect.
2-6: Stand confused for one round, then
roll again.
7-9: Attack nearest creature for one
round, then roll again.
10: Act normally for one round, then
roll again.
Creatures of 2 Hit Dice or less who fail
their saving throw are not confused, but
instead driven into a catatonic state that
lasts for 2d6 hours. Petitioners and mon-
sters native to Pandemonium are unaffect-
ed by this spell.
The material component is a pebble
from Pandemonium, which must be con-
sumed by the caster.
Doomguard
The Doomguard believe that its neces-
sary to prevent people from interfering
with the natural order of thingsthe
gradual entropic death of the entire multi-
verse. The constant conflict of entropy
against order has taken on the characteris-
tics of an unending war for many Doom-
guard. Unlike many other factions, the
Doomguard make no distinctions between
namers or different ranks of factotums.
Doomguard forces form spontaneously in
response to a direct threat to entropy, and
any blood who happens to be there may
end up as the high-up for that fight.
Although the Doomguard dont officially
create supervisors or officers, the truth is
that therere Doomguard who spend all of
their time fighting the entropy war, and
therere Doomguard who dont. The full-
time bloods might be considered the equiv-
alent of factotums from another faction,
since they tend to be in on the dark of
things and often wind up as the cutter in
charge when the faction needs to get
things done.
While the Doomguard skips on organizers
and middle ranks, they do spawn factors to
marshal the forces of entropy against the
forces of order and progress. These bloods
are known as Doomlords, and most sods
dont ever want to meet one whos about the
factions business. Doomlords are picked
from the most powerful and ruthless Doom-
guard, and then subjected to some kind of
unspeakable transformation in the Negative
Energy Plane. When they return, they wear
black and red masks blazoned with the
faction symbol where their faces ought to
be. Its said that the sight of whats under the
maskd drive a body mad.
From time to time, the Doomlords create
champions of entropy to respond to spe-
cific threats. These cutters would be high-
up factotums in another faction, but in the
Doomguard theyre made from whoevers
the strongest sword arm near the trouble.
To help these cutters perform their duties,
the faction arms them with magical weap-
ons known as entropy blades.
Entropy blades are forged in the Doom-
guard citadels and imbued with the destruc-
tive powers of the negative quasi-energy
planes. An entropy blade is created to op-
pose a specific threat to the disorder of the
universe, and once the threat has passed,
the entropy blade dissipates into dust. For
example, a powerful priest of a lawful
power may be trying to unite a warring
kingdom. The Doomguard chooses to oppose
his action, since if the kingdom were left
alone it would fall into entropy. A Doom-
guard hero is entrusted with an entropy
blade with the purpose of destroying the
priest and his works.
Entropy blades are normally swords of
+2 magical value, but when they directly
oppose the threat that prompted their
creation, they act as +4 weapons. Entropy
blades ignore the normal adjustments to
magical weapons caused by travel through
the planesafter all, entropy is every-
where.
Entropy blades also have special powers,
depending on the specific type of blade
createdbut note that these special
powers only operate when the blade is
being used in direct pursuit of the purpose
for which it was made.
An ash blade protects the bearer as if he
were wearing a ring of fire resistance, and
can cause a chill touch three times per day.
A vacuum blade provides the bearer
with immunity to gas attacks such as a
green dragons breath or a stinking cloud
spell. It can enfeeble (as per ray of enfee-
blement) by touch three times per day.
A salt blade provides the bearer with
water resistance (as per a ring of fire
resistance, but against water-based attacks
or spells) and allows the bearer to lower
water or destroy water as a 12th-level
cleric, up to three times per day.
A dust blade protects the bearer against
earth- or stone-based attacks, including earth
elementals, giant-thrown boulders, or fist of
stone, and can disintegrate stone or earth by
touch once per day.
A Doomguard factotum with a very long
mission may retain his entropy blade for
his entire natural life, passing it on to
another Doomguard when he can no
longer serve as a champion of entropy.
However, most entropy blades exist for
only a few months before their missions
are either accomplished or defeated.
Dustmen
Dustman factotums are rare; the mem-
bers of the faction refer to them as Initi-
ates. The lowest-ranking factotums are
Initiates of the Fifth Circle, and middle-
ranking factotums are Initiates of the
Fourth Circle. The factors and factol of the
faction belong to the First Circle. No sods
ever discovered what the Second and
Third Circles were and lived to tell the
tale, but its said that powerful, free-willed
undead make up these ranks of the fac-
tion. To become an Initiate, a Dustman
must be at least 4th level.
Initiates of the Fourth Circle are inaugu-
rated into a sinister and dangerous dark:
their pact of neutrality with the undead
becomes a pact of service. Dustmen facto-
turns gain the power to command undead,
just as if they were neutral priests. Each
Dustman must be individually initiated
into the circle of command; many Dust-
men never become part of this alliance.
Once initiated, the character gains the
power of a lst-level priest for purposes of
commanding undead, and improves when-
ever he rises in level. Priests who gain
access to this inner circle get a bonus of
+4 on all their normal attempts to com-
mand undead.
If this wasnt frightening enough, its also
said that the Dustmen hide a terrible dark
in their hidden Negative Energy Plane
citadel: Every Dustman who has ever died
is waiting to be recalled to service. Except
for those who were disintegrated or other-
wise physically destroyed, the Dustmen
take all their dead back to their black
citadel and prepare them for continuing
service as undead. Some day, theyll all be
summoned back to unlife when the faction
has need of em. A bodyd better not rattle
his bone box about this oneif the Dust-
men even suspect that someones tumbled
to this, theyd be waiting in the darkness.
The end result of all this is that Dustman
Initiates often can muster undead allies to
help them. An Initiate of the Fourth Circle
can requisition a group of undead whose
total Hit Dice are no more than twice his
own level. To make this requisition, the
Initiate must convince his superiors that
he really needs the help, must succeed in a
command undead attempt, and also must
reward the undead for their service. (The
DM can decide exactly what kind of un-
dead forces are available for the charac-
ters command, and what the character
must pay them. Under no circumstances
can a PC attempt to muster undead allies
more than once per adventure.)
The Dustmen are careful not to abuse
this pact of service or to let it become
common knowledge. There are too many
bloods in the Cage whod take offense at
the sight of undead marching through the
streets or looting the homes of the rich for
the factions benefit. A Dustman sod who
fouls this up could very well find himself
as one of the creatures he was trying to
control.
Fated
The Takers have a unique system of ad-
vancement from namer to factotum, and
from factotum to factor: challenge and
defeat. When a Taker decides he wants to
become a factotum, he has to find a sod
whos got the job he wants and remove him
from it. The sod can be convinced to retire,
encouraged to go after someone elses kip, or
(rarely) simply disappear. Whatever it takes,
its understood that the fellow advancing in
rank is merely asserting his right to confis-
cate the desired position from someone too
weak to defend it.
DRAGON 13
 Factotums of the Takers soon discover
that its not in the Takers nature to help
each other out. They dont pass around
special magical items, or teach each other
unique spells. They believe that each cut-
ters got to make his own way in the
world, and if one of the Fated really needs
help from someone else, maybe they
shouldnt have become Takers in the first
place.
However, this doesnt mean that the
Fated dont have tricks that other people
dont. Any sod11 tell you that the Fated are
some of the most knowledgeable and
reliable guides on the Great Road. You see,
one of the Takers never lets someone else
do his work for him. If hes planning a trip
to Carceri, he finds out everything there is
to know about the Red Prison first. When
he gets there, he relies on nothing but his
own observations and common sense. The
Takersve got a knack for survival thats a
mile wide. Of course, Takers dont pass
along this information for free. Youve got
to earn it somehow, and if you want a
member of the Fated to guide you across
Avernus, youd better be prepared to pay
dearly for his time and trouble.
In game terms, factotums of the Fated
can use nonweapon proficiency slots to
gain a special proficiency called Plane
Knowledge, described below. Once a Taker
spends a slot on Plane Knowledge, he can
spend additional slots on Layer Specializa-
tion. For example, a Fated who has Plane
Knowledge (Baator) can spend another slot
to get Layer Specialization (Avernus).
Plane knowledge
General, 1 slot, Int -2
This proficiency allows a character to
become familiar with the hazards, deni-
zens, and refuges of one specific plane. A
character with this proficiency knows
what the gates to the neighboring planes
and different layers look like. He can
recognize common denizens of that plane
and estimate how dangerous they might
be. He has a good idea of whats where,
and the general characteristics of any
powers realm in that plane. With a suc-
cessful proficiency check, the character
can determine which way to go to find
any destination or portal hes heard of,
recognize uncommon or rare residents of
the planes, determine the intent or pur-
pose of any natives he meets, or survive
on inhospitable planes without food, wa-
ter, or special equipment.
By spending another proficiency slot, the
character can specialize in a layer of the
plane he has knowledge of. Layer speciali-
zation creates several contacts or ac-
quaintances for the character on the layer
in question. With a successful proficiency
check, he can apply a +3 reaction adjust-
ment to any dealings with natives of that
layerthe character learns which names
to drop in which situations. A character
with layer specialization effectively has
the direction sense, weather sense, and
14 JANUARY 1995
survival proficiencies while on that layer.
Unfortunately, the only real way to learn
this proficiency is to spend time on the
plane (or layer) in question. About a
months worth of travel and study will
suffice for general plane knowledge, but
becoming an expert on a layer could take
four to eight months of extensive travel
and introductions.
Fraternity of Order
It shouldnt surprise anyone that the
Guvners are the most organized and disci-
plined of the factions. Every factioneer or
factotums got his place and his responsi-
bilities. A clear chain of command con-
nects even the lowest cross-trading
innkeeper right to the factol himself. Fac-
totums are advanced at regular intervals
to positions of greater responsibility, pro-
vided they live by the rules and show
creativity in getting around them.
As Guvner factotums grow more power-
ful, they learn the dark of things. They
find the loopholes in the universe and
learn how to take advantage of them. A
high-up Guvner can do things that no one
should be able to do. When a Guvner
factotum reaches 5th level, she gains a
limited ability to manipulate probability.
Once per day, the character can tinker
with the laws of chance to gain an advan-
tage for herself. (In game terms, she can
give herself a +1 to an attack roll, damage
roll, saving throw, or bestow a -1 penalty
to any one of her opponents rolls. This
bonus or penalty improves by 1 per three
levels, so at 8th level its a +2 bonus or a
-2 penalty, at 11th level a +3 or -3, and
so on. This ability is one commonly taught
by the Fraternity of Order to all of its
factotums.
A more personal special ability lies in the
Guvners command of spell-like abilities.
These are acquired on an individual basis,
usually at the cost of months of adventur-
ing or research. A fighter might learn how
to borrow some elemental fire to tempo-
rarily turn his sword into a flame blade, or
a thief might learn how all shadows meet
on the plane of Shadow and how he can
teleport himself by stepping into one
shadow and out of another. Every time the
character uses one of these abilities, there
is a 10% cumulative chance that the loop-
hole in the laws of the universe closes, and
the ability is lost forever. If the character
rolls 01-05 on this check, the loophole
closes in a catastrophic fashion for him.
(The DM is encouraged to be creatively
malevolent.)
As a rule of thumb, a factotum cannot
learn how to create a spell-like effect that
is of higher level than he could cast if he
were of the appropriate class. It would
take a 9th-level thief to learn the teleport
trick described above, since it takes a 9th-
level wizard to cast teleport normally. In
addition, the research and study involved
is approximately equal to the time and
money required to research the same
spell. (Refer to page 44 of the DMG.) It is
possible for a wizard to research a spell
that he knows how to cast normally; these
are spell-like abilities derived from a
knowledge of the multiverse, not extra
spells. After a character invests the neces-
sary time and money, he has a percentage
chance equal to his Intelligence plus his
experience level to find a way to make it
work.
A Guvner cant gain more than one spell-
like ability per five levels. The DM is per-
fectly within his rights to require a player
character to make an extraordinary effort
(i.e., have a successful adventure) to even
get started on developing one of these
abilities.
Free League
The Indeps dont have any formal orga-
nization or card-carrying factotums. There
arent any terrifying secrets that theyre
passing around, no distinctive powers that
mark them for what they are. They settle
for maintaining their neutrality and keep-
ing out of the kriegstanz of the other
factions. Since they dont create special
powers for themselves, the Indeps find
other ways to look out for each other. One
of these is a spell, know faction, which
was developed by an Indep wizard who
wanted to be sure of who he was dealing
with at any given time.
Know faction
(Divination)
Priest or wizard spell
Priest sphere: Divination
Level: 1 Components: V,S
Range: 20 yards CT:1
Duration: 1 rd./level Save: Neg.
Area of Effect: Special
This spell enables a wizard to determine
the faction of a character or creature
simply by looking at him. Most faction
members dont bother to hide their affilia-
tion, but on occasion factols will order
covert missions or infiltrations of other
groups. The spell lasts one round per level
of the caster, and the caster can determine
the faction of one creature within range
every round. If a target is trying to con-
ceal his faction, he may attempt a saving
throw versus spells to foil the wizards
efforts.
On occasion, creatures with deep-rooted
philosophical beliefs will be revealed by
this spell. For example, a high-level priest
who worships a power of death may be
mistaken for a Dustman.
Harmonium
Strangely enough, the Harmoniums
views often create situations of conflict
with those who dont agree with them.
The Harmonium has adopted a rigid mili-
tary structure similar to that of a typical
army, and most factotums serve as soldiers
and officers beneath factotums of higher
rank. The Harmonium is careful in select-
ing factotums, requiring candidates to be
tough, smart, and dedicated. Usually,
candidates of lower than 3rd level cant
handle the regimen of exercise, training,
and education.
Hardhead factotums are trained exten-
sively in combat and are almost as good at
ending fights as the Doomguard is at start-
ing them. At 4th level, a Hardhead facto-
tum may select a weapon of choice
appropriate to his class. When attacking
with the weapon of choice, the factotum
gains a +1 bonus on his attack roll. Note
that a weapon of choice is not weapon
specialization, and provides no extra at-
tacks or damage bonuses. If a fighter
already has a weapon specialization, she
can use the weapon of choice to gain the
+1 attack bonus with another weapon.
At 7th level, Harmonium factotums gain
a special +3 bonus to saves versus fear
and emotion effects. Their dedication to
duty and their rigid beliefs make it diffi-
cult to distract a Hardhead from his duty.
This bonus applies against spells or spell-
like abilities such as friends, spook, taunt,
forget, scare, emotion, fear, despair, eyebi-
te, cause fear, or even dragon fear.
Finally, Harmonium priests are taught a
special second-level spell called dictate.
Harmonium factors (characters of 10th
level or higher) may learn dictate as a
special spell-like ability, which they may
employ once per day.
one round if he fails his save, fighting the
compulsion to obey.
Mercykillers
Mercykiller factotums are call them-
selves justices. They must undertake a
lengthy period of training and study,
learning the law to an exacting degree.
Once the justices graduate, they are free
to serve the faction independently and
pursue punishment as they see fit. Most
Mercykiller justices commit themselves to
an unending crusade against lawbreakers.
From time to time, the Mercykillers are
confronted with a criminal who escapes
the normal processes of justice and whose
crimes cry out for retribution. When this
happens, the factol orders the creation of
a justiciar from the ranks of the justices to
pursue the villain and ensure that the
crime does not go unpunished.
Justiciars are justices of 5th level or higher
who are assigned to find criminals of unusu-
al power or villainy who would otherwise
escape punishment. Only the most responsi-
ble and resolute of Mercykillers are selected
for this duty; it is expected that the justiciar
will place the performance of his task above
his own life and never give up the chase
until he is dead or justice has been done.
Some justiciars have followed their quarry
for lifetimes, and many others have died in
their quests.
Justiciars are created in three steps.
They first swear a blood oath to pursue
their assignment; second, they are linked
to their target in a magical binding cere-
mony; and last, they are equipped with a
warrant with which to serve their prey.
When the justiciars creation is completed,
he is excused from all other duties and
assignments and set to the trail. Justiciars
can command any resources or assistance
necessary from other Mercykillers they
meet during the pursuit of justice.
The magical binding ceremony that is
part of a justiciars creation serves two
purposes. First, it provides the justiciar
with an innate sense of direction that gives
him a feeling for how far his quarry is and
in which direction. Even the planes them-
selves do not bar the justiciars special
sense. Second, when the ceremony is
completed, the quarry becomes instantly
aware of the fact that it is now being
hunted for its crimes. The material compo-
nent of this binding ceremony is a piece of
evidence from the crime, or something
belonging to the criminal. The justiciar
must keep this on his person for his spe-
cial sense to operate.
The warrant is a scroll with a very spe-

Dictate (Enchantment/Charm)
Priest spell
Sphere: Law, Charm
Level: 2 Components: V
Range: 30 yards CT: 5
Duration: 1 rd./level Save: Neg.
Area of Effect: Up to 6 creatures in
a 20 cube

This spell is an improved version of the

command spell. It can affect up to six
creatures at once, and its effects can last
more than one round. Dictate allows the
caster to speak a short, precise phrase or
order of no more than a dozen words that
must be obeyed by all targets who fail
their saving throw. Examples include,
Throw down your weapons!, Stay here
until I return!, or Seize that elf! The
command must be stated in a language
understood by the targets, or the spell
fails. The subjects will continue to obey
nonimmediate orders (such as Wait here,)
for up to one round per level of the caster.
Dictate must be phrased to create an
immediate course of physical action for
the target. Commands to Die! or Sleep!
usually dont work, but commands to Lie
down and put your hands behind your
head are effective. If the dictate spell is
poorly phrased, the DM can assign a sav-
ing throw modifier of +1 to +4 for the
targets. If the caster directs the intended
victim to take an obviously self-destructive
action (Throw yourself off that cliff! or
Kill yourself!), the victim stands still for

DRAGON 15
cialized spell written on it. When read in
the presence of the justiciars quarry, the
warrant functions as an individualized
hold person spell with a -4 penalty to the
targets saving throw. The justiciar can
read the warrant regardless of his charac-
ter class, and the warrant works only
against the individual creature named in
the scroll. Even creatures normally im-
mune to hold effects are threatened by the
power of the warrant; they must make a
saving throw versus spells or be affected.
The warrants effects last for 5d4 rounds.
Player characters occasionally may be
assigned as justiciars if they have served
their faction well and have shown that
they have what it takes to be made into a
justiciar. There are no limitations on com-
panions, so a PC justiciar could bring his
fellow PCs along in the search for justice.
Revolutionary League
The Anarchists have found that espio-
nage skills and revolutionary organization
are useful tools in their war against the
establishment. Revolutionary League nam-
ers are organized into cells, which are
groups of three to eight cutters who dont
know anyone else in the organization.
Only one blood, the factotum of the cell,
knows anyone else. He is a member of a
second cell, composed of the factotums of
other cells. The Anarchists take their
internal security very seriously, and a
prospective factotum is watched for
18 JANUARY 1995
months before hes invited to meet other
factotums.
When dealing with the Anarchists, its
best to assume that they know most of
your darks and can get at the rest if they
want. Its a good things these cutters cant
figure out an agenda, because if they ever
did agree on which faction to topple first,
the Cage would never be the same.
Anarchist factotums are career revolu-
tionaries. They train their cells extensively
in skills such as Forgery and Disguise. The
factotums gain the special benefit of learn-
ing proficiencies from the rogue group at
normal cost, regardless of their actual
class. Rogue characters gain a special +2
bonus to their score in any proficiency of
their group that they know.
Sign of One
The Signers believe that all existence is
imagined by the mind that perceives it,
and that reality is real for only one blood
at a time. It sounds far-fetched, but theres
a circular logic to their arguments that a
sod just cant get free of. Of course, most
of its just drivel, but every now and then a
Signer shows you just how powerful the
power of belief can be.
Signers of 4th level or higher can choose
to be initiated into the inner circles of the
faction as a factotum. Signer factotums are
trained in the special art of imagining. The
Signers find imagining to be extremely
arduous workafter all, theyre tampering
with reality by forcing their perceptions
on everyone around them. A character
must make a successful saving throw
versus spells to imagine, and for each
additional time he attempts imagining in
the course of one week, he suffers a -4
cumulative penalty to the save.
When a factotum imagines successfully,
he can mimic the effects of the wizard
spells minor creation or shadow monsters,
as if he were a wizard of the same level. If
the factotum makes his saving throw by
four or more, he can mimic the effects of
the spells demi-shadow monsters or major
creation. The factotum actually is creating
a temporary, subjective version of reality
through the force of his beliefs.
Unfortunately, reality doesnt like to be
bent like this. When a Signer fails his
imagine saving throw, he burns out the
power until he advances in level. The
Signer realizes that he didnt know as
much as he thought he did and has to re-
examine his beliefs. If the Signer fails his
saving throw by rolling a 1, he suddenly
realizes that he is imaginary, and becomes
a shadow monster version of himself. He is
reduced to 20% of his normal hit points,
inflicts 20% of his normal damage, and
cannot cast spells or use special racial or
character class abilities. Its hard to get
much done when a bodys almost imagined
himself out of existence. The unlucky sod
can attempt a saving throw versus spells
(no penalties apply) once per day to imag-
ine himself back into reality.
Society of Sensation
Some bashers think the Sensates are
nothing but an organized society of stag-
gering bubbers. Its no dark that the Sen-
sates enjoy themselves, and do so in any
way possible, but its also true that Sen-
sates make a point of collecting life experi-
ence as well as pleasure. Sensates live
every moment of their lives, ignoring
nothing that seems new or unusual. Its
not a neverending debauch; its a studied
effort to experience everything there is to
be experienced, and Sensates can tell
stories thatll open a bodys eyes in won-
der. Sensate factotums are recruited by
senior factotums who search for charac-
ters with experiences of particular value
and intensity.
All this life experience and the apprecia-
tion of entertainment and the arts cant
help but rub off on cutters who become
factotums of the Society. Sensate facto-
tums begin to pick up a few skills a bodyd
normally associate with bards. Beginning
at 5th level, Sensate factotums can use the
bards Local History and identification
abilities as if they were 1st-level bards.
Sensates have an extensive store of experi-
ences that often provide them with unusu-
al insights. Been there, done that, is
practically the factions motto.
To be initiated as a factor, the Sensate
has to make some lasting and significant
contribution to the experience of the
entire faction. The factors of the Society of
Sensation are not a band of monumental
hedonists, but a circle of rare men and
women whove tried something no ones
ever done before them.
Transcendent Order
Action without thought is perfect, or so
the Ciphers say. Any cutter whos ever
seen a Cipher spend a day contemplating
his navel in front of a walld be inclined to
think they were half-right. But the truth is,
Ciphers can achieve a remarkable state of
coordination between mind and body that
can leave other sods wondering how
things happened so fast.
The Ciphers dont recognize factotums
or factors. They simply reward those
bloods whove proven their mastery of the
Cipher meditations with the title of master.
There are three ranks of masters: master
of the heart, master of the mind, and
master of the spirit. Masters of the spirit
are roughly the equivalent of the factors
of the other factions. Members of the
Transcendental Order must be at least 3rd
level to be recognized as a master of the
heart, and at least 7th level to be recog-
nized as a master of the mind. No body
knows the dark of what it takes to become
a master of the spiritcept the masters
themselves.
With time, the Cipher meditations can
improve a characters reflexes to superhu-
man proportions. A master of the mind
20 JANUARY 1995
increases his initiative bonus to +2, and a
master of the spirit increases the initiative
bonus again to +3. It takes a Cipher about
three to four months of intensive exercise
and deep meditation to absorb the teach-
ings of his new rank.
Another benefit of the Transcendental
Orders teachings is the fortification of the
mind against mental attack. Its hard to
take control of a cutters mind when the
fellow isnt even thinking. Once a Cipher
has invoked his action trance, he gains a
saving throw bonus versus mind-affecting
spells and spell-like effects (charm person,
dragon fear, harpies songs, and the like)
equal to his initiative bonus. If the spell or
effect normally allows no save, the Cipher
may attempt a save without his special
bonus. Note that Ciphers only enter their
trance of action when they get into a fight
or are engaged in their exercises and
meditationsa Cipher PC cant walk
around in a blank zone all day on the off
chance that someone might try to throw a
command at him.
Xaositects
Who knows what the Chaosmen might
have the dark of? Its likely theyre not
sure themselves. The Xaositects have no
structure or organization at all; a blood
just finds something hes interested in and
keeps doing it. There are some Chaosmen
with more pull than others, ranging from
leaders of cliques or bands of bashers on
up to major figures who seem to act as
marshals of Chaos. Theres no limit to how
far or fast a Chaosman can rise.
Like the Doomguard, the Xaositects have
no formal structure for creating factotums
or factors. Its simply a matter of whether a
cutter remains a Chaosman in name only, or
chooses to make the goals of the faction
(such as they are) his primary pursuit.
Chaosmen who strongly embrace their
factions causes tend to become mobile cen-
ters of mayhem and disorder that infect
everyone around them with confusion.
As the Xaositect becomes more power-
ful, the forces of Chaos become stronger
in her. Chaosmen of 5th level or higher are
protected by nondetection against spells
cast by lawful wizards or priests. Chaos-
men of 9th level or higher gain the ability
to radiate confusion in a 20 radius, once
per day. The effects of the confusion last
for 2d6 rounds, and any lawful characters
within the area of effect save with a -2
penalty.
Its rumored that very powerful Chaos-
men have the ability to mutate their physi-
cal forms or create a circle of chaos
similar to a paladins aura of protection
from evil. Unfortunately, no ones been
able to get to the truth of the matterthe
Chaosmen both confirm and deny any
stories to this effect.
 [Editors Note: This article was written to
be usable in any AD&D game campaign. It
is not specifically intended to be used in the
PLANESCAPETM setting, although such cer-
tainly is possible with some minor adapta-
tion. (I think shades would fit right in with
the cutters and bashers of Sigil.) Also, Wolf
Baur pointed out that DUNGEON Adven-
tures issue #35 contained the adventure,
Twilights Last Gleaming by James Jacobs,
which takes the PCs to the demiplane of
Shadow. Dale]
Overview
Swirling within the Ethereal Plane, large
blobs of proto-matter collide and clump
together. When significant amounts of a
specific proto-matter have amassed, it ac-
quires physical and magical properties of
its own and becomes a demiplane. As a
demiplane continues to acquire more of its
base proto-matter over time, it eventually
may become a plane in its own right. The
demiplane of Shadow (known also as the
Shadowlands) is one of the largest demi-
planes and is believed to be nearly infinite
in size. Sages speculate that it might be-
come the newest inner plane in the centu-
ries to come.
Shadowstuff, the essence of the demi-
plane of Shadow, is derived from intermin-
gling forces constantly pouring forth from
two great vortices connected to the Energy
Planes. It is a semi-element created by the
combination of equal parts of energy from
the Positive and Negative Energy Planes.
Fixed in the sky high above the demiplane
of Shadow, these two vortices appear as
huge spheres of identical size. One sphere,
blazing forth with blinding white light, is
the vortex to the Positive Energy Plane.
The other sphere, oozing out thick, inky
darkness, is the vortex to the Negative En-
ergy Plane. The spheres are nearly impos-
sible to see from within the demiplane, due
to the rolling thick shadow-clouds that al-
ways blanket the sky. Most visitors to the
demiplane are unaware of the existence of
these vortices.
The demiplane of Shadow is not an in-
herently evil land. Although its gloomy
appearance does contribute to the myths
that only dark and foul creatures would
want to live in such a place, there are a fair
number of nonevil creatures living on the
demiplaneboth natives to the Shadow-
lands and outsiders who have sought out
the demiplane to dwell in or visit. Some
creatures found here are good (15%), but
the majority are either neutral (45%) or
evil (40%). The demiplane is a dark and
murky land of perpetual gloom and twi-
light. Most of the demiplane has terrain
and weather similar to those phenomena
on the Prime Material Plane worlds. Other
areas of the demiplane are alien, strange,
and often highly dangerous to travelers.
Reaching the demiplane
The primary means of reaching the de-
miplane of Shadow is through the use of
planar travel spells and devices. The spell
created specifically for such a journey is
the seventh-level wizard spell shadow
walk. Travelers in the Ethereal Plane may
enter the demiplanes silver curtain from
its Border Ethereal. Permanent ducts lead-
ing to the demiplane of Shadow may be
found on all the inner planes and the
Prime Material Plane. These are usually
hidden or well guarded by powerful
shadow-beings. There may exist a portal to
the demiplane in Sigil, the City of Doors,
from the PLANESCAPE setting.
Movement
Movement on the demiplane is the same
as on the Prime Material Plane (dependent
on existing weather and terrain condi-
tions). Terrain varies on the demiplane;
dim forested regions, gray hills, dusky des-
erts, dark mountains, pitted plains, insub-
stantial oceans, and alien landscapes are all
to be found. All light sources are severely
dampened by the light-dimming quality of
the demiplane of Shadow. Torches burn
only as brightly as a candle, while a lit can-
dle will barely glimmer. In game terms, all
light produced by natural sources (torch,
lantern, bonfire, etc.) is reduced by 75%.
Vision in this shadowy realm is limited to
that available under Twilight as per the
Players Handbook, page 117. Infravision
works normally on the demiplane of
Shadow.
Characters who walk along the demi-
planes Border Ethereal will find that they
can cover more distance than if they were
in the demiplane itself or on the Prime
Material Plane (three quarters of a mile
can be traveled in one round of normal
movement). The shadow walk spell takes
advantage of this unnaturally occurring
phenomenon.
Physical conditions
The environment of the demiplane of
Shadow is not immediately hostile to non-
natives. The demiplanes temperature
stays nearly constant at 60 F. The air is
breathable and not known to produce any
ill effects. Travelers must bring their own
food and water, though. Any food or wa-
ter found on the demiplane has no true
substance with which to nourish a visitor
and will not satisfy hunger or thirst. The
demiplane has a gravity similar to that of
most Prime Material worlds (a definite
sense of up and down, items released fall
to the ground, etc.). Time passes here the
same as it passes on the Prime Material
Plane with regard to combat, memorizing
spells, and natural healing.
Creatures of shadow
Beings encountered on the demiplane of
Shadow either are natives of the Shadow-
lands or outsiders that are visiting or have
decided to reside permanently on the
demiplane.
Among the natives are the ancestors of
many creatures that have migrated to
other planes but are believed to have
originated on the demiplane of Shadow.
Additionally, the demiplane is home to a
group of natives commonly referred to as
umbrimals. These are shadowy counter-
parts to Prime Material Planar creatures
(similar to the animentals of the Elemental
Planes). [Animentals are further detailed in
the Manual of the Planes supplement for
the original AD&D game.
Many of the common animals and some
of the unusual monsters found within the
MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM volumes
have shadow-duplicates living on the demi-
plane. These umbrimals have similar hit
dice and Intelligence to their Prime Materi-
al counterparts, and 10% of these doubles
can cast some form of magic equivalent in
ability to a spell-caster of the same level as
their hit dice. This ability is innate and
requires no components.
All natives of the demiplane of Shadow
are immune to the effects of any spell that
specifically draws upon shadowstuff (a
shadow magic fireball would not burn
natives of the demiplane, a demi-shadow
monster griffon is unable to harm an
umbrimal, and so forth). Umbrimals en-
countered may appear solid, semi-
corporeal, or insubstantial. Coloration of
these creatures is always drab (gray, olive,
brown, and other muted hues). All natives
of the demiplane of Shadow are immune
to attacks that drain life levels.
As a general rule of thumb, creatures
from the demiplane of Shadow are strong-
24 JANUARY 1995
er and more resilient when in shadowy
areas (+1 to hit, +1 bonus to AC, 1 addi-
tional hp/hit die). Conversely, in areas of
bright illumination, shadow-beings become
somewhat enervated (-1 to hit, -1 penal-
ty to AC, lose 1 hp/hit die).
Combat
At the DMs option, melee and missile
combat abilities may be affected by the
shadowy lighting conditions (as per the
DMG, page 118).
Effects on magic
Spell-casting characters on the demi-
plane will discover that certain spells and
items that produce spell-like effects do not
function the same way they do on the
Prime Material Plane. For one thing, spells
that produce bright light, vivid colors, or
darkness (light, continual darkness, etc.)
are severely limited when cast on the
demiplane of Shadow (area of effect re-
duced by 75% and duration halved). Spells
belonging to the various wizard schools
are additionally affected as follows:
Abjuration: Spells of this school perform
normally, except those that defend against
specific animals or plants from the casters
homeworld may not protect against simi-
lar types of creatures on the demiplane.
Abjurations will, however, function well
against non-natives. Abjuration spells that
produce colors (i.e., prismatic sphere) will
still function, but all colors of the sphere
will be greatly dimmed (and area of effect
and duration are affected as mentioned
above).
Alteration: Many of these spells function
normally, except as noted above where
light effects will be lessened. Spells that
rely on colors for their effect (rainbow
pattern, color spray, etc.) allow a +2 bo-
nus to the saving throw for targets be-
cause the demiplane dampens the spells
effect. There are no natural plants, ani-
mals, or weather conditions on the demi-
plane of Shadow, so spells such as plant
growth, speak with animals, and control
weather will not function.
Conjuration/Summoning: Any item or
creature conjured up in the demiplane will
be composed of shadowstuffwhich is
real for all intents and purposes while the
item or creature remains on the demi-
plane. Once removed from the demiplane,
it immediately dissolves into insubstantial
shadow. The caster may summon crea-
tures only from the Inner Planes, due to
the demiplanes remote location in the
Deep Ethereal. Summon shadow will sum-
mon shadows from the Negative Energy
Plane, but the caster has no control over
them.
Divination: Most divination spells func-
tion normally here. No divination spells
are able to contact the Outer Planes, due
to the demiplanes remoteness from those
locations.
Enchantment/Charm: Natives of the
demiplane may be immune to charm spells
cast by non-natives. Otherwise these spells
work normally.
Evocation/Invocation: Most of these
spells work normally except for spells that
produce bright colors or light. These spells
will be muted but still have the same ef-
fects (for example, meteor storm will
cause burning damage but will glow no
brighter than a torch). Astral spell does
not work on the demiplane.
Necromantic: These spells have en-
hanced effects when cast on the demi-
plane of Shadow, due to the demiplanes
unusual relationship with the Positive and
Negative Energy Planes. Necromantic
spells that heal or cause harm with a
touch have 1 hp added per die. Addition-
ally, spells that target individuals, large
groups, or areas from a distance (death
spell, finger of death) carry a -1 penalty
to the saving throw for the victim(s).
Illusion/Phantasm: The often colorful
effects that accompany illusions and phan-
tasms will be muted, but they otherwise
function normally except as follows: Since
most illusions draw their magic from the
Ethereal Plane and because of the demi-
planes proximity to that plane, illusions
and phantasms take on a truer aspect of
reality, making them harder to disbelieve
(-1 penalty to saving throws). Spells that
directly draw on the demiplane are special
cases. Their effects are altered as follows:
Shadow magic and demi-shadow magic:
The effects from these spells are 100% real
and function exactly as the spell that it is
meant to imitate. For instance, a magic
missile created by shadow magic functions
as the real magic missile spell with regard to
damage inflicted, number of missiles, etc.
Shadow monsters, demi-shadow mon-
sters, and shades: The monsters created
by these spells are actual monsters with
the full abilities of the monsters they du-
plicate (Intelligence, innate spell-like abili-
ties, THAC0, movement, etc.). In most
cases, the monsters disappear at the spells
expiration. However, the nature of the
demiplane may allow created monster(s) to
become free-willed. There is a 30% chance
of this happening with shadow monsters,
20% with demi-shadow monsters, and
10% with shades. Free-willed monsters
may behave in any way the DM decides
(attack the caster, flee, fight for the caster).
Minor creation and major creation:
Items created are permanent and real as
long as they remain on the demiplane,
dissolving immediately once removed from
the demiplane.
Shadow walk: This spell opens a tempo-
rary conduit to the Prime Material Plane
through which the caster may enter that
plane, along with anyone else chosen by
the caster.
Shadow door: This spell creates an actu-
al room in extradimensional space for the
spells duration. The room may be secured
by those inside or outside.
Lorloveims creeping shadow (from the
Tome of Magic): Any native of the demiplane
of Shadow immediately becomes aware of
the presence of a creeping shadow. Demi-
planar natives may attack the shadow as if it
were a physical creature. Natives of the demiplane of Shadow
Lorloveims shadowy transformation
(ToM): There is a base 100% chance, minus Monster Source Remarks
1% per level of the caster, that the recipi- Elemental, Semi-(Shadow) MC1 Not a true elemental, a shadow elemental
ent will become an insubstantial shadow has similar stats and commensurate abilities
forever. to natives of the Inner Elemental Planes
Shadowcat (ToM): The shadowcat cre- with regard to hit dice, control, etc.
ated by this spell has no limit on the dis- Dragon, Shadow MC5
tance it may wander from the caster. Gloomwing MC3
There is a base 50% chance, minus 1% per Worm, Tenebrous MC1
level of the caster, that the shadowcat will Greelox Dun 35
be free-willed. A free-willed shadowcat Shadeling Dun 35
may not be hostile, but is under no obliga- Mastiff, Shadow MM2
tion to obey the casters will. Psi-Shadow MM2
Shade Drag 213
Effects on PCs Shadow Asp Drag 174
Priests who have deities residing any-
where but the Ethereal Plane or the Inner
Planes will be unable to receive spells over
second level.
Psionicists can use their abilities normal-
Ancestors of migrant Prime Material Plane creatures
ly, since psionics are not affected by the
demiplane of Shadow.
Thieves gain a +10% modifier when Monster Source Remarks
attempting to hide in shadows. However, Cloaker MC3
natives of the demiplane can see through Cloaker Lord Menzo
any shadows and will always be aware of Dark Creeper MC14 Most commonly encountered humanoid on
a thief trying to hide. demiplane
Bards abilities are unaffected on the Dark Stalker MC14
demiplane. Raven (all types) MC5
The combat abilities of fighters, pala- Steel Shadow RoU
dins, and rangers are not affected on the
Demiplane of Shadow. A paladins holy
sword loses its ability to cast light on the
demiplane. Unless a ranger learned how to
use his abilities on the demiplane of Outsiders
Shadow, he cannot track wildlife or iden-
tify any plants native to the demiplane. Monster Source Remarks
Both rangers and paladins fall under the Baatezu, Greater MC8 Refugee from the Baator
same restrictions as priests when attempt- Bodak, Benign MC8 Escapee from the Abyss
ing to regain spells. Darkenbeast MC3 Prime Material creation brought to the demiplane
Wizards are affected to the extent that Deva, Monadic MC8 On mission from greater power of Outer Planes
certain spells will have different effects Gingwatzim WHRl Accidental wanderer from Ethereal Plane
(see Effects on magic above). Human/Humanoid various Party of NPC adventurers*
Nightmare MC8 Summoned by powerful beings, often seen in
Encounters herds
Below is a brief list of creaturesnatives Shadow * * MC1 Visitor from Negative Energy Plane
of the demiplane, ancestors of creatures Shadow, Slow * * MC5 Visitor from Negative Energy Plane
that have migrated to the demiplane, and Shadow Fiend MC10 Refugee from the RAVENLOFT setting domains
outsiders that often visit the demiplane or the Abyss
that a group of player characters could Tanarri, True MC8 Escapee from the Blood Wars and the Abyss
meet while they are adventuring on the Undead, various * * various Undead who have partial existence on the
demiplane of Shadow. The list includes the Negative Energy Plane sometimes visit the
primary source for each creatures full demiplane
description, and in some cases a brief Xag-ya, Xeg-yi MM2 Visitors from the Energy Planes
explanatory remark. A DM who does not Xi11 MC14 Hunter from Ethereal Plane tracking Prime
have access to some of the primary Material Plane travelers into the demiplane of
sources given here should feel free to Shadow
expand this listespecially the Outsiders
sectionwith creatures as he sees fit. *NPC party composition is up to DM (adventuring high-level NPCs, a mage questing
for information and magic, resident hermit locked away in a keep, spelljamming vessel
Sources somehow lost in the demiplane, etc.)
MC# = MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM * *Undead do not remain long on the demiplane of Shadow. The natural resistance
accessory followed by specified volume of the natives to most life-draining attacks coupled with the proximity of the demiplane
number to the Positive Energy Plane causes undead to seek out more appealing places.
MM2 = Monster Manual II from the
original AD&,D game rules
Dun = DUNGEON Adventures followed Poly = POLYHEDRON Newszine fol- RoU = FORGOTTEN REALMS original
by issue number lowed by issue number Ruins of the Undermountain boxed set
Drag = DRAGON Magazine followed by WGR1 = WORLD OF GREYHAWK Menzo = FORGOTTEN REALMS Menzo-
issue number source module berranzan boxed set
DRAGON 25
Shade
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any (demiplane of
Shadow or shadowy areas)
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Special
DIET! See below
INTELLIGENCE: Varies
TREASURE: Varies
ALIGNMENT! Any
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: As original creature
MOVEMENT! As original creature
HIT DICE: As original creature
THAC0: As original creature
NO. OF ATTACKS: As original creature
DAMAGE/ATTACK: Varies
SPECIAL ABILITIES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 3% per level of origi-
nal creature
SIZE: As original creature
MORALE: Varies
XP VALUE: Variable
It is agreed by most sages that a shade is
a once-powerful human or demihuman
who sought out immortality by infusing
his mortal body with shadowstuffthe
semi-element that comprises the demi-
plane of Shadow. The magical union with
this dark essence has brought about the
characters transformation into a shade.
Only a single-classed human or demi-
human of at least 10th level may become a
shade. A dual-classed or multiclassed
character can never become a shade. A
shade may continue to advance in its class
(racial limits still apply) but cannot change
to another class under any circumstances.
Knowledge of the rare and highly reclu-
sive shades is kept secret by the few resi-
dents of the Prime Material Plane worlds
who know of their existence.
The infusion of gloomy shadowstuff
often changes the alignment of a shade
(generally toward neutral and/or evil).
Because of this, only 10% of all shades
encountered will be of good alignment,
50% will be neutral, and the remaining
40% encountered will be evil. Only a wish
spell may prevent this change. Once it has
successfully completed the transforma-
tion, a shade is considered to be a true
native of the demiplane.
Special abilities: The transformation
empowers all shades with special abilities.
Some abilities are always available, while
others may be employed only in areas of
heavy shadows. The infusion of shadow-
stuff extends a shades life indefinitely, for
unless a shade is slain outright, it will
never die. Shades no longer need to eat,
but subsist solely on shadows. Addition-
ally, shades gain magic resistance equal to
3% for each level possessed. Shades are
immune to disease and life-level loss. All
shades are able to regenerate lost limbs
(except for the head) in 2d8 weeks. In
areas of sufficient shadows, a shade will
regenerate lost hit points. Moreover, a
26 JANUARY 1995
shade is empowered with special spell-like General outlook
abilities. These spell-like abilities are com- Most shades care little for the day-to-day
mon to all shades in addition to other affairs of mortals whose days are few and
abilities available to each particular class: whose lives are consumed in petty quests
Shadow walk as per the seventh-level and mundane struggles (an existence
wizard spell (see Players Handbook, page shades are glad to be freed from). The
186); two uses per day. virtual immortality that all shades possess
Lorloveims shadowy transformation as allows them to pursue those interests that
per the sixth-level wizard spell (see Tome they followed when mortal (magical re-
of Magic, page 38) 3 uses per day. search, increasing personal power or
The shadow may open a gate (ninth-level wealth, overseeing an ages-long project,
wizard spell, PHB, page 195) to the demi- etc.). Whatever endeavors they undertake,
plane of Shadow once per day (100% shades rarely interact with each other.
chance of success). The gate summons a The incorporation of shadowstuff into
specific creature that the shade personally their beings invariably brings about a
knows (ally, pet, etc.). The creature may gloomy, sullen change in personality to-
refuse to pass through the gate and is ward solitary behavior. Even good-aligned
under no obligation to obey or fight for shades are affected in this way.
the shade.
The priest-shade
Effects of light and darkness: A This class of shade is among the rarest
shades power can wane or wax dramati- of all shades. Since most deities do not
cally depending upon the lighting of its approve of their clerics becoming shades,
current surroundings. A shade is most priests almost never become shades on
powerful when surrounded in shadow. In their own. Those who do often worship
areas of bright light or extreme darkness deities whose sphere of influence lies with
where shadows are scarce, a shade is shadows and darkness. Priest-shades lose
weakened significantly and loses much of all access to the Sun sphere of spells. Any
its special abilities. priest who successfully becomes a shade
Light Magic Damage from Special
conditions* Regenerate resistance condition abilities * *
Bright No Standard, saves at -4
penalty lose 1 hp/round None
Average No Standard, saves at -2
penalty lose 1 hp/turn None
Twilight 1 hp/turn 3% per lvl None 1, 2
Shadowy 1 hp/turn 3% per lvl none 1, 2, 3
Night 1 hp/turn 3% per lvl none 1, 2
Complete
darkness No Standard, saves at -2 lose 1 hp/turn None
penalty
*Light conditions:
Examples
Type
Bright Bright sunlight on clear day
Center of continual light spell
Light without shadows (from several sources
around shade)
Average Normal daylight with shade or clouds
Center of light spell
Outline of faerie fire or similar spell
Twilight Dawn or dusk
Average indoor light
Edges of light/continual light spell
Shadowy Normal illumination on demiplane of
Shadow
Underground torchlight
Dimly lit room or forested area
Night Room with windows at night
Moonless or cloudy night sky
Complete darkness Pitch black, overcast night sky
Unlit interior room or cavern
In area of darkness spell
**Special abilities:
1= shadow walk
2= Lorloveims shadowy transformation
3=gate
has its Wisdom ability score permanently
raised by one (with a maximum of 19).
Combat: Priest-shades are limited to the
weapons and armor normally usable by
their class. In shadowy areas, priest-
shades may, once per day, use the special
ability either of shadowharm or sha-
dowheal. When employing shadowharm,
the priest-shade uses the magic of a harm
spell on another creatures shadow, dam-
aging the target as if affected by the 6th-
level priest spell, harm (saving throw
allowed). Conversely, shadowheal will
affect the target creature as if cured by a
heal spell. The priest-shade must physi-
cally touch the targets shadow to use this
special ability.
Habitat/Society: Because so few
priests become shades, the priest-shade is
the rarest of all shades. Given the fact that
only the most devoted and powerful cler-
ics rise high enough in level to become
shades, it is improbable that such high-
level priests would forsake their deities to
become shades unless given permission to
do so. Priest-shades residing on the demi-
plane of Shadow must worship higher
powers dwelling either in the Inner Planes
or in the demiplane of Shadow (if any such
exist in your campaign) to receive spells
above second level. Priest-shades primarily
seek to exist in their shadowy temples and
live out their immortal existence obeying
their deity. When priest-shades travel to
the Prime Material Plane, it is mainly to
keep in contact with the mortal members
of their sect.
The psionicist-shade
After priest-shades, psionicist-shades are
the rarest type of shade. This is primarily
due to the secretive nature of psionicists
and their small numbers. The transforma-
tion for a psionicist gives the psionicist a
boost to her mental powers. A psionicist-
shade permanently gains 20 to 80
(ld4 X 20) additional PSPs. Additionally, a
psionicist-shade gains the sciences of ani-
mate shadow and shadowform (even if the
psionicist-shade does not have access to
the disciplines that include these sciences).
The use of these sciences does not have an
initial cost or maintenance cost, and a
psionicist-shade never rolls a 20 on its
power score. A psionicist-shade may use
each of these abilities twice per day.
Combat: With poor hand-to-hand com-
bat skills, psionicist-shades rarely enter
into physical combat. Since psionic effects
are not hampered on the demiplane of
Shadow, a psionicist-shade can use all its
powers to overcome an opponent. If seri-
ously threatened, a psionicist-shade will
flee using its innate shadow walk ability.
Habitat/Society: Psionicist-shades are
the most reclusive of shades. They spend
most of their immortal existence alone
strengthening their mental abilities
through dedicated practice, creating a
28 JANUARY 1995
psionic artifact or two, and occasionally
dealing with troublesome intruders.
Psionicist-shades dwellings are spartan
and devoid of earthly riches or other
useless treasures. Items found within a
psionicist-shades abode primarily serve a
utilitarian purpose. Psionicist-shades rare-
ly leave the demiplane unless on a mission
of personal importance.
The rogue-shade
Only thievesnot bardsare eligible to
become rogue-shades. Upon becoming a
shade, a rogue-shades Dexterity score is
immediately raised three points (with a
maximum of 19). This change in Dexterity
improves the shades thieving skill base
scores appropriately. On the demiplane of
Shadow or in areas of similar illumination,
a rogue-shade can move silently and hide
in shadows with a 100% base chance of
success. When employing these skills, a
rogue-shade is completely undetectable by
normal means (but magical detection will
still function).
Combat: Rogue-shades fight as they did
in their mortal lives, except that they more
craftily wield the power of shadows to aid
them in their endeavors. Seemingly being
able to dissolve into the shadows at will
and then surprisingly reappear soon after
in another area is the rogue-shades main
combat tactic ( +4 on attack rolls, +4
bonus to armor class when in shadowy
areas). Rogue-shades are cunning oppo-
nents, always looking for an opportunity
to utilize the surrounding shadows to the
best advantage.
Habitat/Society: Rogue-shades enjoy
accumulating wealth, especially if they can
acquire riches through their thieving
ways. Rogue-shades travel more than any
other shade class between the demiplane
of Shadow and the Prime Material Plane.
Rogue-shades have been known to run
thieving guilds on several Prime Material
worlds from their home base on the demi-
plane of Shadow. Rogue-shades work
solely for themselves and have never been
known to serve a master. They primarily
seek to fill their dark and dusky mansions
with treasures and magical items. These
mansions are always well guarded against
unwanted visitors.
The warrior-shade
Warrior-shades were once formidable
fighters, paladins, and rangers who now
fight in a new shadow-enhanced body. The
fear of old age and its infirmities that
eventually turn all stalwart warriors into
feeble things is what drives most warrior-
shades to become shades and thus be
forever able and strong. Any subclass of
the warrior class may become a warrior-
shade. All warrior-shades add one point to
their Strength ability (with a maximum of
19; any score from 18 to 18/00 is raised
one category).
Paladins and rangers who become
shades suffer a great loss of abilities. Pala-
dins who move toward this darker side
lose all benefits associated with their sub-
class (spell-casting, cure disease, protection
from evil, etc.). A paladins war horse will
always desert a master who becomes a
shade. Rangers who become shades are no
longer considered a part of nature and so
lose most of their special ranger abilities.
A ranger retains only those of his tracking
abilities that work both on the rangers
home plane and on the demiplane of
Shadow and the ability to hide in shadows.
A paladin or ranger who undergoes the
process to become a warrior-shade is now
a warrior of the same level (experience
points adjusted downward appropriately).
Combat: A warrior-shade is formidable
in combat. In shadowy areas, a warrior-
shade gains a +2 bonus to armor class,
+2 to attack and damage rolls (cumulative
with any other benefits). A warrior-shade
also may animate a shadow double of itself
once per day when sufficient shadows are
present. A shadow double is an exact
physical duplicate of the warrior-shade
with regard to armor class, THAC0, and
hit points (shadow doubles have no weap-
ons but may pick up an available one). The
shadow double will fight or move as di-
rected by the warrior-shade and will re-
main until dismissed by the warrior-shade
or slain. A shadow double must be within
the warrior-shades field of vision to be
controlled. A loss of control will dispel the
shadow double for that day.
Habitat/Society: Warrior-shades are
among the most numerous of shades.
They gave up their mortal lives to become
eternal warriors. At times, they are seen
emerging suddenly from the shadows on a
great battlefield to aid some cause or
nation. Oddly enough, while warrior-
shades enjoy battle, their brooding and
solitary ways keep them from sharing
their adventures with others. Once a
battle has been finished, a warrior-shade
usually slips back into the shadows
avoiding curious adventurers and other
questioning folk. In their keeps and cas-
tles, warrior-shades live as most royalty
doeshaving a full staff of servants, well-
tended and stocked stables, a secured
armory, and lots of treasure. A few are
believed to rule lands and people in dark,
shady castles on the Prime Material Plane.
The wizard-shade
This is the most common type of shade
encountered. Any subclass of wizard may
become a wizard-shade. Of all the charac-
ter classes, wizards are perhaps the ones
most likely to use life-extension methods.
For wizards, the shade-transformation is
viewed as a much more pleasant option
than undeath. Wizard-shades add one
point to their Intelligence scores (with a
maximum of 19).
Combat: Wizard-shades suffer none of
the spell limitations that normal wizards
do when casting spells on the demiplane of
 Shadow. Spells that deal with shadows
when cast by a wizard-shade will have
double strength and a double duration.
Illusion/phantasm spells cast by a wizard-
shade are more difficult to disbelieve (-2
penalty to save) since the caster has a
deeper comprehension of the shadowy
magic being wielded.
Habitat/Society: The lure of long life,
the love of magic, and the desire to pursue
a deeper understanding of their magic are
the primary reasons that wizards become
shades. Their immortality allows for near-
ly limitless research and creation of spells,
magical items, and an artifact or two.
Wizard-shades prefer to stay locked up in
their towers to continue their arcane
research. A few wizard-shades have been
known to live in towers of solid shadow-
stuff situated on the border of a Quasi-
Elemental Planes and an Energy Plane.
How these structures withstand such
harsh environments remains a mystery.
Wizard-shades are very private and have
rarely been known to accept strangers
into their dwellings. Some wizard-shades
keep in touch with old comrades on the
Prime Material Plane and have been re-
ported to aid friends in times of need.
Character subclasses of unique
worlds: DMs may opt to allow character
subclasses unique to certain worlds the
option of becoming shades. These special
subclasses would fall under the appropri-
ate class heading (an Athasian gladiator
would become a warrior-shade, a templar
would become a priest-shade, etc.)
The transformation
A shade may be created in one of two
ways. One is by the use of the new ninth-
level wizard spell create shade, which is
described below. The other way is alluded
to in the Players Handbook under the
ninth-level wizard spell energy drain, page
194a wizard who has his Constitution
score reduced to 0 by multiple castings of
energy drain dies and is reborn as a
wizard-shade. A shade created in this
manner immediately undergoes an align-
ment change to neutral evil (due to an
imbalance caused by tapping the Negative
Energy Plane when casting energy drain).
Create Shade (Alteration)
Level: 9 Components: V,S,M
Range: Special CT: 1 day
Duration: Perm. Save: None
Area of Effect: 1 creature
This powerful spell infuses one being
with shadowstuff from the demiplane of
Shadow and transforms him into a shade.
The subject of this spell must be a single-
classed human or demihuman (psionicist,
priest, thief, warrior, or wizard only) of at
least 10th level.
The casting of this spell is a long, deli-
cate, and highly complex procedure. The
caster and the recipient must not be dis-
30 JANUARY 1995
turbed at all, or else the spell will fail. The
caster must additionally cast shadow walk,
Lorloveims shadowy transformation, gate,
and permanency upon the subject for the
transformation to succeed.
Upon completion of all the castings, the
subject must successfully roll a system
shock roll.
A 25% bonus may be added to this roll if
this spell is cast on the demiplane of
Shadow. A percentile roll less than or
equal to the survival chance indicates that
the subject has been transformed success-
fully into a shade. Failure means that the
subject dissolves away into shadowlost
forever. Any attempt (even by a wish) to
return the subject to normal will automati-
cally fail.
It is possible for a character to have his
alignment changed by this spell. Roll d10
for any changes: 1, Alignment stays the
same; 2-4, Alignment moves one step to-
ward true neutral; 5-7, moves one step
toward evil; 8-9, becomes true neutral; 10,
becomes neutral evil. A wish spell may be
used to prevent any change in alignment.
After the spell is cast, the caster loses ld6
Constitution points and loses conscious-
ness for 1d8 days (also aging five years if a
wish was used to prevent an alignment
change).
If not for the fact that this spell is dan-
gerous to both the caster and the recipi-
ent, shades might be more numerous.
Only a free-willed wizard can cast this
spell successfully. The material compo-
nents for this spell are 10,000 gp worth of
powdered onyx, 10,000 gp worth of pow-
dered diamond, and an amulet of the
planes. The powdered onyx and diamond
are consumed during the casting of the
spell, while the amulet is used to draw
forth the necessary amounts of shadow-
stuff and planar energy from the demi-
plane of Shadow and the Positive and
Negative Energy Planes respectively.
DRAGON 31

by Bill Slavicsek & Michele Carter
Artwork by Tony DiTerlizzi
32 JANUARY 1995
Welcome to Sigil, the Cage, the city of
Doors. Whatever you call it, Sigil is eternal.
Its the crossroads of everywhere, the way-
station of the multiverse. But you already
know that, cause youre here. Its not like
youre one of the Clueless or some addle-
coved barmy, right? You know the chant. I
could tell the moment you stepped through
the portal just by looking at you. Still,
theres dark and theres dark, and every
cutter needs a light now and then. For just
a little jink (a little more than that, berk!)
Ill be your light. Itll be money well spent.
Now, most toutsll show you where to
eat, what to see, where to sleep, and
where to spend jink. But the Cages more
than shopping and impossible architecture.
Its bodies, especially the bodies whore
found in Sigil more often than not. Without
them, thered be no services, no bloods to
pass on the chant, no cutters to tell you the
dark of it. A few of these bodies are so well
known that theyve become fixtures in the
Cagenot quite on the same level of recog-
nition as the dabus and the Lady herself,
but close enough. I know these bodies, and
Ill point them out as we go.

The first body youll want to remember
is Akin. He knows where all the skeletons
are buried in the Lower Ward, if you catch
my meaning. Hes over this way, right off
Bloodgem Road. . . .
Akin, the friendly fiend
A picture of a smiling yugoloth over the
door identifies the shop as The Friendly
Fiend. Its one of the best shops in the
Lower Ward, with a reputation for fairness
and quality that impresses even the hard-
to-please denizens of the Market Ward. If a
cutter needs the best supplies available in
this part of town and wants to pay the best
prices, then this is the place to do
businesseven if the shopkeeper is a
greater yugoloth.
Akin, the shopkeeper, has a fearsome
appearance. He looks like a robed human
with the head of a war dog. He has a pleas-
ant personality, however, and a friendly
manner. In fact, hes probably the nicest
yugoloth a cutterll ever run into. He never
has a foul word to say or a bad mood to
pass on to a customer. To the contrary,
Akin makes friendly conversation and par-
cels out kind words to everyone who visits
the shop.
Step inside The Friendly Fiend and
browse. Unusual items from across the
multiverse fill the shop. From the mundane
to the magical, if its available in Sigil its
probably in a bin, atop a shelf, or on a ta-
le in Akins shop. A moment after a berk
steps through the door, the yugoloth rush-
es over with an amiable greeting and a cup
of hot tea or a mug of sweet wine to wash
away the dust of travel. Enchanted items
and goods from far-off planes can be pur-
chased here, but quantities are extremely
limited. But dont be in a hurry, cause
Akin takes his time.
A body wont get the hard sell here. In
fact, Akin takes forever to get around to
selling anything. Instead, he talks about the
weather, provides local news, and shares
amusing anecdotes with his customers. He
asks about where theyre from (if they look
like they dont mind talking), or drops hints
about places that might offer advice or as-
sistance to their types (bashers, peelers, fac-
tion members, and so on).
Akins shop has been around for a num-
ber of years. He arrived mysteriously (as
most arrivees do) and quickly made a name
for himself among the other Cagers. While
the friendly yugoloth talks a great deal, he
doesnt say very muchat least not about
himself. In the absence of facts, Cagers
tend to invent fantasy. How close some of
this fantasy comes to the truth, who can
say? Regardless, if a body asks three differ-
ent berks on the street about Akin, a bo-
dyll get three different versions of who
Akin is, why hes so different from other
yugoloths, where he comes from, and why
hes living in Sigil.
One says that Akin is a spy, sent to Sigil
to gather information for the Blood War.
Which side does he work for? Well, that
depends on whos spouting the chant.
Some of the berks who hold with this story
say hes the eyes and ears of the Dark
Eight, sending intelligence reports back to
Baator on the Lady of Pain. Others claim
hes in the employ of one of the balor,
watching for a weakness the tanarri can
exploit. A few even suggest that hes an
independent, selling what he learns to the
highest bidder. In all of these cases, the
friendly persona is just an act. Deep down,
these bubs believe, Akin is as vile and evil
as all his brethren. He just hides it well for
the profit he can gain.
Another rumor describes Akin as an
exile. The arcanaloth, according to the
dark of it, did something so terrible that
the General of Gehenna banished him
forever. To survive outside Gehennas cruel
embrace, Akin had to take on a persona
contrary to fiendish nature. He hopes
someday to return to Gehenna, once the
climate improves. That, of course, could
take centuries, for the speculation over
Akins actions ranges from the horrific to
the most revolting imaginable. Most who
hold to this chant believe that Akins calm
exterior hides a terrified castaway. He
constantly watches for signs that the Gen-
eral has come to terminate his exile
permanently. They believe that one day a
fiendish assassin will arrive to put Akin in
the dead bookunless the arcanaloth
remains alert and ready to strike before
the assassins blade slashes in the night.
Finally, there are those who think that
Akin is barmy. He doesnt behave like a
normal yugoloth, so he must be one stone
shy of a portal, they say. A friendly fiend?
Thats just plain addled! Its a sure indica-
tion of insanity, as Akins behavior goes
against the natural order. These bubs
believe that insanity and violence go hand-
in-hand. We know how a normal yugoloth
acts, the bubs say, but a barmy yugoloth
might do anything, and that makes him
twice as dangerous! Someday they think
that Akin will totally snapand not even
the Lady herself will be able to prevent the
deaths that will surely follow.
The truth, as is so often the case, proba-
bly includes elements of all these chants.
Until Akin feels inclined to share his histo-
ry or something happens to confirm one
or another, one fact remains clear. If a
body enters The Friendly Fiend looking
for a deal, some information, or just to get
out of the rain and smog, then theyve got
a friend in Akin the arcanaloth.
Course, not everyone in Sigils native to
the Outer Planes. Plenty of berks come
here from their insulated prime worlds,
most of em in search of power and trea-
sure and as clueless as you can imagine.
Lots of em get killed in ugly ways, too. But
therere some canny enough to seek out
the dark of the planes, and those who
adapt quick enough prove themselves
cutters the equal of any planar. Well, al-
most any.
Anyway, the points that not all primes
are completely clueless. Take Lissandra,
there. If you want to know where to find a
portal to elsewhere, or you need to know
about a certain gate key and dont have
time to deal with the Guvners endless
fussing and forms, you might simply ask
her where it is and how its done. Course, Lissandra hooked up with a few Guvners
itll cost you a bit of jink . . . but what in
Sigil doesnt?
Lissandra the gate-seeker
As a scholar on some backwater prime,
Lissandra always was fascinated with the
idea of the infinite planes. Specifically, she
was intrigued with the mechanics of trav-
eling measureless distances, and the seem-
ing paradox that an infinite distance could
be traveled in a finite period of time. She
scrupulously gathered and compiled re-
ports from plane-traveling souls that spoke
of portals and pathsshortcuts be- ing point, Lissandra soon ventured out to
tween the infinite distances capable of
transporting a body from one hypothetical
end of the multiverse to the other.
Lissandra arranged to have herself
transported to the planes. She arrived in
the Cage just as clueless as any prime, but
with a mission. It didnt take long for her
to learn the dark of surviving in Sigil; for
the most part, its a matter of providing a
service to some other berk for enough jink
to live on.
After getting used to the local condi-
tions, Lissandra went about doing what
she does best. She started to investigate
Sigil and its connection to the rest of the
multiverse. It wasnt long before she dis-
covered that the Guvners already had a
great body of knowledge on the subject.
Using her natural beauty and charm,
and gained access to the factions library.
Soon she was sifting through all of their
records pertaining to portals, conduits,
gates, keys, and related topicsat least all
of the records not sealed by order of the
Guvners factol. She spent months poring
over scrolls, paging through books, and
studying complicated diagrams. In return,
she used her considerable research skills
to help organize the library and catalog
the vast amount of information that ar-
rives on a daily basis.
With the Guvners records as her start-
conduct personal research. A body can

Akin the greater yugoloth

(Planar/male arcanaloth/HD 12+24/N):
Int 20; AC -8; MV 12, Fl 18 (B); hp 88;
THAC0 9; #AT 3; Dmg 1d4/1d4/1d6 (claw/
claw/bite); SA Poison (cumulative -1
attack roll penalty per successful claw hit);
SD +3 weapon or better to hit, immune to
acid, fire (dragon and magical), iron weap-
ons, poison, half damage from gas, double
damage from cold; Spell-like powers: Alter
self, animate dead, cause disease, charm
person, continual darkness, control tem-
perature (10 radius), fly (unlimited dura-
tion), heat metal, improved phantasmal
force, invisibility, magic missile, produce
flame, shape change (to any humanoid
form), telekinesis, teleport without error,
warp wood (all used at will), advanced
illusion (once per day), fear (once per day);
MR 60%; SZ M (6 tall); ML 16.
DRAGON 35
spot Lissandra more often than not in
Sigils streets. She watches the known
portals, waiting for someone to come
through so she can ask her questions:
Where did you just come from? Whats
the portal on the other side look like? How
did you get it to work? Shes learned to be
patient and not so enthusiastic in her
questioning, as most visitors to the Cage
are suspicious and short-tempered by
nature. Plus, most cutters dont give away
anything for free. Lissandra has become
adept at determining what fee will usually
be called for.
The Gate-Seeker, as most of the Cagers
have come to call Lissandra, does more
than watch portals, however. She tracks
shifting gates, trying to determine logical
patterns so she can predict future appear-
ances. She maps stationary portals, compil-
ing a list almost as long as the one kept by
the Guvners. And shes always experiment-
ing with gate keys, trying to determine not
only which item works with which portal,
but why. Lissandra is very systematic. She
starts her investigations on one end of a
ward and works her way from block to
block in orderly fashion. Sometimes
her investigations take her to
another part of the city,
but eventually she'll return to
complete the circuit she started
Lissandra is attractive,
perceptive, and more than
a bit obsessive about her stud-
ies. Still, she finds time to
take a break from the
research so that she can make
36 JANUARY 1995
some honest jink. Course, it all ties back
into what she knows, cause knowledge is
her power and source of livelihood in the
Cage. Need the location of a portal? Go ask
Lissandra. Need to know what key opens a
planar gate? Go ask Lissandra. As almost
any berkll say, the Gate-Seeker is a lot
easier to deal with than the Guvners. A
bodys still got to acquire the key for him-
self; Lissandras a source of information,
not a key-seller. Like everything else,
though, itll cost. (Exact prices vary with
campaigns and DM styles.) In addition to a
reasonable (for Sigil) fee, she expects to be
told about a bodys experiences traveling
the distances of the planes.
In pursuit of knowledge, Lissandras
completely fearless. Shell ruthlessly inter-
rogate a marraenoloth, contend with the
circular reasoning of a modron, or play
riddle-games with a ratatosk until it gives
her the answers she wants. Gossips in Sigil
recount the memorable day she queried a
cornugon baatezu for hours about the
twisting paths of Baator; apparently
amused by her investigation, the fiend
answered truthfully (as truthfully as a
baatezu ever does, anyway) until she
starting asking about ways onto the ninth
layer of Nessus, where the Dark Eight
meetwhereupon the cornugon got as
pale as a baatezu ever gets (which isnt
very), and abruptly fled.
Lissandra might ask or be persuaded to
temporarily join a party, particularly if its
traveling on one of the Great Paths (Yg-
gdrasil, River Styx, Mount Olympus, or
River Oceanus) or plans to visit a unique
pathway site (such as the Labyrinthine
Portal of Mechanus or the Infinite Stair-
case in Selunes realm in Ysgard). If she
does, shell be as useful to the group as she
can; she doesnt expect to be protected or
coddled. Lissandra may have her own
agenda, but she recognizes the fact that
theres no such thing as a free rideor a
completely safe one.
Lissandra the mage
(Prime/female human/W9/NG): AC 0
(bracers AC2, ring of protection +2); MV
12; hp 22; THAC0 18; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6 +3
(staff of striking); SZ M (5 tall); ML 16;
Spells (usually memorized): charm person,
comprehend languages, detect magic,
magic missile, ESP, warp sense x2, fly,
lightning bolt, suggestion, dimension door,
wizard eye, teleport; Str 11; Dex 15; Con
12; Int 17; Wis 15; Cha 16.
This is the Clerks Ward. Its clean, peace-
ful, and totally boring, but therere a few
bloods you should be aware of. Estavan,
for instance. Hes got an office near the
Hall of Records. If you need something
and I mean anythingthen Estavan is the
blood youll want to talk to. Course, if
youre one of those sods who has trouble
making nice to an ogre, you could have
some problems. . . .
Estavan of the planar trade
consortium
Not far from the Hall of Records, on a
street of crowded, two- and three-story
houses, a curious sign directs interested
patrons to the second floor of a building
that looks like its been squeezed flat be-
tween its neighbors. The narrow stairs
climb toward a plain wooden door, and
anyone taller than a large human has to
duck beneath the swaying sign. On the
sign, a series of glowing portals stretch
across the surface in an artful rendering.
The silhouette of a long caravan trudges
through the portals. This is the icon of the
Planar Trade Consortium.
The door at the top of the steep, narrow
stairs opens into a richly appointed office
thats furnished with an oversized desk, a
huge chair, a couch of gigantic propor-
tions, and a pair of human-sized chairs.
The room appears huge, due in part to the
15 high ceiling. A door on the far wall
reaches almost to the ceiling. Arcane icons
decorate its frame, and the door itself is
made of solid bronze. The same icon as
the one on the exterior sign is engraved on
the face of the door. Four times out of
every five, an ogre mage will be seated
behind the desk or stretched out on the
couch. This is Estavan, one of the mer-
chant lords of the Consortium.
Estavan wears expensively tailored
clothes with a definite oriental flare. His
light blue skin always is clean and pow-
dered, his ivory horns polished so they
gleam. An ornate polearm called a nagi-
nata hangs on the wall behind the desk
whenever Estavan is in his office. When
hes not, the rack is empty. The ogre mage
serves as one of the Consortiums agents in
Sigil. There are at least two other Consor-
tium offices elsewhere in the Cage, one in
The Ladys Ward and one in the Market
Ward. Each seems to have a slightly differ-
ent function, though any business a body
has with the Consortium can be handled
by any of the merchant lords in the city.
The Planar Trade Consortium handles
commerce across the multiverse. The
Consortiums agents go far and wide to
find exotic goods, make deals, and engage
in many kinds of business transactions.
Much of their activity comes through Sigil
at some point, where the resident mer-
chant lords direct it to the best markets
(both in the Cage and beyond). This is one
38 JANUARY 1995
of Estavans major functions, though he
juggles many tasks in a given day.
Estavan can be gracious and polite, but
he is ruthless in business dealings. Hes
always calculating, always watching for
opportunities. If a body deals fairly with
him, hell return the favor. If a body tries
to pull a fast one, the merchant lord reacts
harshly, with no remorse, as though he
was engaged in war instead of business.
Estavan isnt squeamish about spilling
blood to keep the jink flowing. He also
likes to provide favors in return for future
considerations. The chants that so many
berks in the Clerks and Guildhall Wards
owe Estavan favors that the Planar Trade
Consortiums allowed privileges that no
other group could ever hope to achieve.
The ogre mage is never seen outside his
office. In fact, its doubtful he could fit
through the door or down the narrow
stairs. Most of his clients believe that the
door inside his office is actually a portal to
the secret headquarters of the Consorti-
um. When Estavan isnt in the office, the
clients think, hes off on some other plane
performing missions of some sort for the
Consortium. If asked, Estavan simply
laughs hid chilling laugh.
If a body needs to get out of the Cage,
Estavans one blood to talk to. The Consor-
tium has pathways to most of the major
planes and to many of the backwaters. For
a price, Estavan can put a body in one of
the planar caravans. It costs more if a
body wants to leave Sigil quietly, but Es-
tavan can arrange that, too. A body has to
work during the trip, of course, helping to
get the goods to their destination. On some
trips, the works easy. On others, its hard
and dangerous. If a body wants to leave
badly enough, a Consortium caravans
probably the best way to go.
Estavan the merchant lord
(Planar/male ogre mage/HD 5+2 Frater-
nity of Order/LE): Int 16; AC 4; MV 9, Fl 15
(B); hp 27; THAC0 15; #AT 1; Dmg 1d8 +2
(naginata +2); SA +3 to attack rolls, +6
to damage rolls; Spells: Used at will: fly
(for 12 turns), invisibility, darkness 10
radius, polymorph self (humanoid form, 4-
12 tall), regenerate (1 hp per round); Used
once per day: charm person, sleep, gas-
eous form, cone of cold (60 long, 8d8
damage); SZ L (10 tall); ML 14.
Me? Oh, Im nobody special. Just another
tout showing a bunch of cutters the back
alleys and secret spots of the Cage. Maybe
I know a bit more about the bloods living
here than some of the other toutsits all
part of the service. But you know that,
cause youre paying the jink to make it
worth my while.
Kylie, a tout
Kylie was born and raised in the Cage,
and shes happy to stay there. She never
wanted to work in a shop or go adventur-
ing, but she loved to roam the city and
meet the diverse beings who come and go.
It was inevitable that Kylie became a tout. A
touts reputation and pay aint the best, but
it does let Kylie get to know everyoneand
everyone knows her. She figures that the
best way to fame and fortune isnt through
adventuring around the planes (a nasty
businessand dangerous!), but by simply
being at the center of events and knowing
everyone and everything going on. Shes got
acquaintances all over Sigil, from the Court
of the Ladys Ward to the slime pits of the
Hive. She doesnt consider them friends
shes too wary to call anyone friendbut
she goes out of her way to make sure ev-
eryone remembers her favorably.
Kylie figures that information is the core
of her business, and shes right. She fol-
lows her own Rule of Threes: watch,
listen, and learn. Somebody always wants
to know something, and Kylie wants to be
the first blood they think of when theyre
ready to hand out the jink. Though shes
more inclined to collect information about
Sigil as its usually immediately profitable,
shell keep track of anything and every-
thing that crosses her path. No bit of
news, nor rumor, nor solid fact is wasted.
Growing up in Sigil taught Kylie a valuable
lessoneverythings worth something to
someone. Everybody needs to find some-
thing sometime, and when they do theyre
usually willing to spend jink for the privi-
lege. Thats where Kylie comes in.
Kylie is very friendly and extremely
helpful to everyone she meets. Shes espe-
cially gracious to adventuring types, as
theyre usually most immediately in need
of her services. Like all touts, Kylie watch-
es the portals for new arrivals. When she
sees a good prospect, she hooks up with
her (or it) and offers her unique services.
Besides acting as a guide to the city, Kylie
likes to provide her customers with an
additional service. She points them toward
the really important things in Sigil, namely
the bloods who make the city work. Most
cutters really dont need help finding a
good inn or a lively tavern. Its much
harder to find a berk who knows the dark
of a particular topic or the clerk who can
grease the wheels of bureaucracy. Thats
the unique service Kylie sells.
Jinks well and good, and Kylie wont
turn down substantial amounts of it, but
whenever possible she prefers a different
kind of payment. Kylie likes to be paid in
magical items. She has an appetite for all
things arcane, from clothing to weapons to
items with magical properties. It isnt that
she has a desire to become a wizard or
anything like that. Shes just fascinated by
magical items. As such, shes always load-
ed down with at least a handful of useful
(and sometimes not so useful) enchanted
things. Another form of payment shell
accept is useful information, but it has to
be something she thinks will earn her a lot
of jink for her to take it in lieu of money
or magic.
Kylies ambition is to set herself up as an
information source with an extensive spy
network at her command. To that end,
shes already begun recruiting some of
the younger, less-experienced touts to
advise her of news and happenings
throughout Sigil. She wont establish a
shop, as a permanent headquarters makes
an easy target for the enemies shes sure
to cultivate. Instead, her network will be a
roving one, made up of dozens of seeming-
ly independent touts making the daily
rounds of the portals and marketplaces.
Shes seen careless berks who deal in
information end up on the leafless tree
because they dealt the wrong information;
others are so paranoid their shops and
homes are turned into veritable fortresses,
afraid of factions or proxies or powerful
bloods who find out the sods are dealing
secrets theyd rather keep dark. Course,
her dream is still far from becoming reali-
ty. She still has to build a sizeable base of
trusted associates and work out the logis-
tics of gathering and passing along infor-
mation. In addition, Kylie has two other
weaknesses to overcome. First, she needs
to recruit bashers to provide her network
with protection. Even a roving group can
be attacked, if only one member at a time.
I0 JANUARY 1995
Second, she has a lack of magical sources Notes
of information. To rectify this deficiency, Akin and the Consortium appear briefly
Kylie is especially friendly to all wizards in the upcoming PLANESCAPE adventure
she meets. One day she hopes to find one Harbinger House. For more on the path-
willing to join her developing network. ways of the planesparticularly the lawful
Kylie is whip thin and slight of build. ones (including the treacherous way into
Shes frighteningly quick, with movements Nessus)see the Planes of Law boxed set.
that appear too smooth to be natural. Her
manner is friendly and easy-going, at least
on the surface. Deep down, shes pos-
sessed of a terrific desire to turn her
dream into a reality.
Kylie the tout
(Planar/female tiefling/T8/Free League
N): AC 2 (earring of protection +2, Dexter-
ity); MV 12; hp 27; THAC0 17; #AT 1; Dmg
1d6 + 2 (short sword of quickness +2);
SA: Backstab x 3; SD: half damage from
cold, +2 to saves vs. fire, electricity, poi-
son; SZ M (5 tall); ML 15; Special abili-
ties: infravision 60, darkness, 15 radius
once per day; Thief abilities: PP 85%, OL
55%, F/RT 55%, MS 90%, HS 90%, DN
50%, CW 85%, RL 45%; Str 14, Dex 18,
Con 12, Int 16, Wis 11, Cha 15.
42 January 1995
 Plenty of planar-encounter possibilities
by Larry Granato
Artwork by Terry Dykstra
re ordinary monsters getting a bit bor-
ing? Are the local dungeon and wilderness
becoming too familiar? If youre a DM run-
ning a party of high-level characters who
like to teleport, plane shift, travel ethereal-
ly or astrally, and generally visit other
worlds and planes, then here are some
interesting ideas to spice up your campaign.
Traveling throughout the multiverse in
search of adventure can lead to confronta-
tions with unusual beings not found on the
Prime Material Plane. But theres more out
there than monsters. There may be times
when the DM wants to provide special en-
counters with strange and awesome entit-
ies or places.
The spells and devices that allow interdi-
mensional travel are fraught with hazards,
too. If you subscribe to the theory that
although magic is usually well understood
and controlled, from time to time there is a
small chance that something will go
wrongreally wrongthen youre getting
the picture. When one is attempting to
travel between worlds, the results can be
interesting.
The following three lists (along with their
accompanying explanations) can be used in
cases where the DM decides that some sort
of mishap has befallen a party of travelers.
Or, the encounters and occurrences de-
scribed here can be used simply as random
events, for a change of pace.
List #l, Interdimensional mishaps, men-
tions the most common problems encoun-
tered by groups teleporting or moving
about the planes. These represent various
natural hazards. Every time the party uses
some form of magical transport, there is a
small (0l-05%) chance that something will
go wrong. If the spell has been hurried or
disrupted slightly, but not enough to spoil
it, the chance of error rises to 25%. When
an error occurs, the DM can roll a d10
and consult List #l, or choose an appropriate
result.
There are times when the DM decides
that the party has traveled to an unusual
place (either deliberately or by accident) or
has encountered powerful forces of the
Multiverse. These Forces and places of the
multiverse are given in List #2.
List #3, Strange encounters; gives some
possible encounters with the bizarre that
can flummox even the mightiest group of
PCs. Use this list sparingly.
Fantasy literature, TV, movies, and other
articles in DRAGON Magazine provided
inspiration for many of these ideas. You
can expand these lists using similar means.
Since these encounters are special, dont
let the players get off easy by having their
characters cast a few spells or use a few
magical items to solve their problems. For
instance, you can tell the PCs that magic
doesnt work well in the universe theyre
in, and theyre out of touch with their dei-
ties. This will restrict the use of high-level
priest spells and cut back on their using
potent magic to blast their way to success.
You dont want to destroy the characters;
just make the players come up with crea-
tive solutions instead of relying on the usu-
al magical ways of problem-solving. Keep
the PCs guessing about their adversarys
true strength.
Good DMs try to be consistent and follow
the rules. But remember the advice, mod-
eration in everything, including modera-
tion itself. Once in a while you can pull a
fast one, as long as you are not unfair to
your players. Playing strictly by the rules
all the time can get tedious, especially if
youve got a group of dungeon lawyers.
They know all the monsters in the books,
so nows the time to throw in a few things
theyve never heard of before (unless they
read this article). However, I would not
recommend using the following encounters
on every adventure!
Some of these encounters result in the
party being quested. For the DM, its al-
ways a good idea to keep a few quests
hanging over the partys head in case they
run out of things to do, or need help. The
entity who quested them might be willing
to pull them out of a tight spot so he
doesnt lose their services for some other
task at a later date. This will cost the ad-
venturers additional quests, of course.
These encounters are suggested only for
groups with a sense of humor and imag-
inationand DMs who can come up with
ideas on the fly, and like to roll dice a lot.
44 JANUARY 1995
List #1 : Interdimensional
mishaps
1. Random destination. When using
plane shift, teleport, dimension door, or
traveling astrally or ethereally by some
means, the party ends up in an unexpect-
ed location on their homeworld, thou-
sands of miles from their intended
destination. Needless to say, they are hope-
lessly lost.
2. Vortex. An energy vortex appears
for 2d10 rounds. Its origin is on another
plane. It may siphon PCs (or their magic)
off to another world or spew out debris
(50% chance of either). Characters pulled
into the vortex suffer 10d6 points of dam-
age and end up on another plane. Debris
comes out at the rate of ld4 - 1 pieces per
round. Each piece has a 5% chance of
hitting someone within 400 yards, doing
3d6 points of damage. There is a 10%
chance that one of the pieces of debris is a
valuable item, possibly magical.
3. Psychic winds/Ether cyclone. If
the party is traveling astrally or ethereally,
a gigantic storm blows them far off
course, and they are lost for 3d10 days. If
they werent astral or ethereal, something
(a miscast spell, a dimensional hole, etc.)
propels them into the Astral or Ethereal
plane.
4. Discontinuity. A quirk of the uni-
verse has changed what was. Upon return-
ing home, the PCs may find that their
house is on the other side of the street,
one of their followers never existed, past
history is different, a certain spell or magi-
cal item doesnt work the way it used to,
an opponent they killed is back, etc. This
gives the DM a chance to change some-
thing that has been causing problems in
her campaign.
5. Displacement. A temporal, planar,
or energy displacement affects the party.
If the displacement is temporal, the party
appears forward or backward in time
from when they left (or expected to be). A
planar displacement puts them in another
universe. Energy displacement involves
the draining (or gaining) of charges from
magical items and any technological items,
if the party has them. Items totally drained
of charges crumble to dust; items that are
overcharged (charged beyond their capaci-
ty) explode, doing 6d6 points of damage to
all within 10.
6. Teleport or planar fatigue. Too
much dimensional travel wears out the
party. They may not use any teleporting or
dimension-shifting spells for ld4 days.
7. Rift. A hole to another dimension
opens up. The rift is unstable, and disap-
pears in l0dl0 rounds. Meanwhile, theres
a 85% chance some really nasty monsters
(DMs choice) will come through. The
party also can go through, but cant come
back after the rift is closed. Theres a 25%
chance the rift is so strong that creatures
within 100 must make a saving throw to
avoid getting pulled in.
8. The mystery nexus triangle. The
party enters a strange area (a crack
between the planes) where things from all
over time and space disappear. Sometimes
they pop back years later. Its a sargasso
(or a garbage dump) of the cosmos. All
those lost items like lost socks and keys
end up here (maybe even things the PCs
have lost). Strange creatures and items
also can be met, but the real trick is to
find the way out. (Is that Elvis over there?) 5. The cosmic wheel of fortune. 6. The eternal city. This is a tranquil
9. Miscast spell. The partys magic Spin the wheel and take a chance! Repre- place that exists between time and space.
goes haywire. Roll percentile dice: senting the force of random fate and for- Visitors are greeted with hospitality. The
01-05 Random spell affects the party tune, it rolls into view looking like a giant inhabitants are unarmed and peace-loving.
06-10 Random spell affects a random vertical roulette wheel (sorry, no Vanna They dont want to be involved in the
target White). There is a base 25% chance (plus struggles of other worlds. If the party is
11-15 Spell affects wrong target 10% per each roll after first) that the pursued by enemies, they could bring
16-20 Spells power increases/decreases* Wheel will disappear after each spin. The unwanted conflict to this peaceful locale.
21-25 Spell effects reversed following table is an example of the vari- In that case, they are responsible for help-
26-30 Spell delayed 1d20 rounds ous effects on a character who spins the ing to protect the Eternal City.
31-35 Spell affects possessions only Wheel, but DMs can substitute any appro- 7. The Dimension-traveling
36-50 Backfire. 6d6 damage to all within priate effect they desire. structure/place. This could be a float-
10 of caster ing extradimensional island or a building
51-00 Fizzle. The spell has no effect Roll Effect like the Vanishing Tower of Voilodon Ghag-
* The DM must determine how this 01 Disintegrated naisdiak in Michael Moorcocks Elric sto-
affects range, duration, area of effect, 02-03 Killed ries. These objects usually only appear for
damage, saving throws, etc. 04-05 Turned into a monster a short while and jump from plane to
10. Character/Item encounter. The 06-10 Loses a level (it cant be plane randomly. The party could be
party encounters a group of plane-shifting restored) trapped in such a place until it stopped
nonplayer characters. These NPCs are 11-15 Loses a good magical item somewhere familiar. Sometimes one ap-
high level and are not happy theyve been 16-25 Loses half his money and pears only on a certain plane once a year,
interrupted in their journey. Or, the PCs valuables on a particular day, or at a particular time.
inadvertently pull an object out of another 26-35 Gets a disease 8. The conjunction of the million
plane to their location. This could be an 36-65 Nothing spheres. The barriers between the uni-
astral artifact, a technological device, a 66-75 Gets a cigar verses are at their weakest ever. Its possi-
piece of trash, someone whos been turned 76-80 Gets 5,000 gp ble to visit another dimension just by
to ethereal stone, a supply cache, etc. 81-85 Gets a magical item taking a walk. Needless to say, creatures
86-90 Gets a special ability from other dimensions will be visiting
List #2: Forces and places of 91-95 Gets a really good magical your PCs neck of the woods to pick up a
the multiverse item few goodies (e.g., the PCs and their trea-
1. Gate/Portal. An opening to another 96-97 Has one ability score raised sure). The conjunction lasts (1d10 +61
world or plane appears. It is permanent l-3 points days.
until some ultrahigh-level creature closes 98-99 Raised one level 9. The plane-shifting vessel. A magi-
it. These openings often appear as mir- 00 Gets a wish cal vessel that can be steered to different
rors, stone megaliths, caves, etc. Some are
one-way only. This encounter also covers
special areas that connect many dimen-
sions like the Wood between the Worlds
in C. S. Lewis Narnia stories or the City of
Doors, Sigil, of the PLANESCAPE setting.
2. Unique character/creature. Now
is your chance to inflict on the party one
of those special monsters youve been
saving. Is it Megabreath, giant dinosaur
king of the B-monster movies? The sweet-
looking little girl who is the most powerful
(and chaotic) psionicist in the multiverse?
How about that Bolo Mark XXVI Continen-
tal Siege Unit?
3. The balance of the planes. This
entity, appearing as a giant set of scales,
maintains the balance between good and
evil, order and chaos. The PCs have done
something to upset the balance, and they
have to correct it by performing a difficult
quest. If they fail, the balance will be
changed for a long time. For example, the
party may find themselves defending their
homes in a losing battle against ever-
increasing hordes of evil, otherplanar
monsters.
4. The auditing department. Oh-oh.
The agency responsible for balancing the
levels of magic in the multiverse has found
an account overdrawn. They will correct
the situation by permanently draining
magic (or levels) from magic-using charac-
ters or the partys magical items. As an
alternative, the party might be able to pay
the bill by going on a difficult quest;
perhaps recovering a few cursed artifacts
for the agency.
DRAGON 45
universes. One example is The Ship That
Sails the Seas of Fate, also from the Elric
stories, but a zeppelin, spacecraft, or
chariot are other possible vehicles. The
crew will be interested in the PCs, either
as potential targets of attack or suckers
for a quest.
10. The night of nights. Only once in
a thousand years does a night like this
occur. Anything can happen on a Night of
Nights and usually does. A princess might
fall in love with a homely dwarf. Muscle-
bound barbarian warriors take up knit-
ting. A greedy PC gives his most treasured
possession to a homeless orphan. In short,
the DM will have plenty of chaos to spread
around.
11. The stars are right. Extremely
rare astronomical conditions make the
time perfect for an appearance of an ma-
levolent extraterrestrial slime-sucking
horror. Such creatures start at 20 HD, are
immune to most magic, attack both psioni-
cally and with numerous tentacles or
squirts of face-dissolving goo, and like to
eat brains. Enjoy.
12. Bar between the worlds. This
hospitable tavern can be reached from
many planes by those who know how. Its
always full of interesting people from all
of space and time. The special anti-magical
properties of the place prevent magic and
any but the most primitive (nontechnologi-
cal) weapons from being used. This re-
striction does not affect the owner and his
staff.
13.The fountain of youth. The fa-
bled source of restoration. After drinking
a sip, a characters physical age will be in
the 16-20 year range. Anyone who takes a
big gulp turns into an infant. Anyone who
drinks twice will disappear.
14. The labyrinth. A dungeon to beat
them all. Theres no mapping here; the
party is perpetually lost. The labyrinth
exists in a pocket dimension of its own,
so there is no chance of escape before
getting to the end of the maze. The traps
and monsters of the labyrinth usually are
controlled by a malicious archmage (who
observes the partys progress through
magic), making them doubly dangerous.
The DM is encouraged to be particularly
fiendish (e.g., part of the labyrinth is a
giant pinball machine; the PCs are the
balls).
15. Pure law/chaos. The party comes
into momentary contact with a force of
Pure Law or Pure Chaos (50% chance for
either). The effect on characters varies
with each characters alignment. Pure Law
gives lawful PCs a temporary raise in
three ability scores (characters choice) to
18 for 3d10 days (30% chancel or gives a
+2 bonus on attack, damage, and saving
throw rolls for 1d3 months (70% chance),
but gives a -4 penalty to a chaotic PCs
attack, damage, and saving throw rolls,
and ability checks, and causes a 20% re-
duction in spell range, duration and ef-
fects for 2d4 weeks (60% chancel or slows
the PC for 1d20 + 10 days (40% chancel.
Neutral-aligned PCs will be blasted for 5-20
(5d4) points of damage. The effects de-
scribed above are reversed for a Pure
Chaos force acting against lawful and
chaotic charactersa lawful PC either is
slowed or suffers the penalties, and a
chaotic PC either gets the higher ability
scores or the bonuses.
16. The well of wisdom. The magical
font of sagacity. One drink allows characters
with Wisdom of less than 7 to add 1d8
points. For a Wisdom of between 7 and 12,
add 1d6 points. For a score of 13 through
15, add 1d3. For a score of 16 or 17, add 1.
Drinking from the fountain is dangerous for
mortal beings with a Wisdom of 18 or
higher-theres a 50% chance of having the
characters Wisdom permanently reduced to
3; otherwise add 1 point. Characters who
drink from the fountain a second time will
die (no resurrection possible).
17. The crack of doom. Now theyve
done it. Its like a rift, only a lot worse. A
giant abyss opens in the surface of the
ground near the party, and out pours a
horde of creatures from the underworld.
Overhead, storms and lightning rage. The
PCs must survive as best they can. Re-
member, even if they get away, whoever
has to clean up the mess will try to find
out who caused it and will take revenge.
Unless you plan on ending your campaign,
the Crack of Doom is only a temporary
phenomenon and will disappear in 1d4
days.
18. Pure evil/good. The party comes
into momentary contact with a force of
Pure Evil or Pure Good (50% chance for
either). The effect on them varies with
each characters alignment. Pure Good will
raise good-aligned PCs one level (30%
chancel or add 1d8 hit points (70%
chancel, but will drain 1d4 levels from evil
PCs (40% chancel or cause 8d6 points
damage (60% chancel. Neutral PCs will be
blasted for 3d8 points of damage. Effects
are reversed for a Pure Evil force on good
and evil characters. Level drains cannot be
restored.
19. Land of dreams and night-
mares. The place where what you dream
comes true. While characters are here,
their physical bodies are in a unbreakable
sleep. What the PCs dream appears to
happen, but the effects are not perma-
nent. However, the creatures who inhabit
this land are much better at creating
dreams than visitors, and their attacks
cause real damage. If a PC is killed in the
Land of Dreams, his physical body dies.
The land is ruled by Morpheus, the deity
of dreams, whose will is the only reality
here. He can make any dream come true.
20. The city at the end of time.
Quite different from the Eternal City, this
is an ancient, moldering ruin inhabited by
packs of horrific mind-destroying mon-
sters. The creatures can track you
through any dimension, so theres no
escape. Alternatively, the city is inhabited
by a few degenerate humans with huge
heads and weak, shriveled bodies. The
humans may be conscienceless technolo-
gues who want to manipulate the party
for their own enjoyment, or pitiful, help-
less remnants of humanity who are be-
sieged by evil forces.
List #3: Strange encounters
1. The black coach. This is a dark,
sinister carriage that flies through the air,
guided by a headless driver and pulled by
six black horses. It has come to take a PC
to another plane to pay for some crime or
offense. It is unaffected by any magic or
physical attacks, and can follow its prey
anywhere. The only hope of avoiding it is
through the use of a wish (unless the party
comes up with a sufficiently impressive
alternative).
2. The anti-universe. After using a
teleport or plane shift, the characters
arrive at their destination to find that
everything, although familiar, is the oppo-
site of what theyre used to. For example,
everyone who was good-aligned before is
now evil. (The PCs may have counterparts
with opposite characteristics in this land.)
3. Death. Yes, its big Mr. D, and hes
coming for one or more of the party.
Death is immune to all forms of bribery or
flattery, and beyond the ability of the most
powerful PCs to injure or influence in any
way. He occasionally can be distracted,
however, and there is also the possibility
of making a some kind of deal, although
wealth or magic will not interest him.
4. The megacurse. A curse of extreme
potency, it cant be removed except by a
major deity or the like. Examples are a
curse of extravagance, which causes the
PC to give away all of his possessions to
the poorest people around (not other PCs),
or the jinx, in which the PCs bad luck
affects everyone but himself, causing them
to miss saving throws and attack rolls, do
minimum damage, miscast spells, lose
stuff, trip and fall in combat, etc. An alter-
native to the megacurse is the cursed
super-item, something that the party cant
get rid of. This intelligent, annoying object
causes the PCs unending problems with its
pouting and whining, but has a few very
useful, very powerful abilities it employs
when it feels like it.
5. The guru. Also known as the celes-
tial sage, this incredibly wise, ancient
hermit is full of useful information and
good advice on every subject. He doesnt
adventure and dislikes being bothered.
 6. Mental transfer. A PC exchanges
minds with a monster. The condition may
be permanent, or may revert after a peri-
od of time. (One character in my land got
to be king of the slimes.) Another possi-
bility is the possession of a character by a
creature that cant quite displace the PCs
mind, so theyre continually fighting for
control over his body.
7. UFO. A flying saucer descends on
the party. The aliens are hostile and very
high-tech. They usually have some scheme
of conquest. One campaign I played in was
famous for its Martian Nazis. Can the PCs
save their world? Remember: Resistance
is useless. Take us to your leader!
8. The zone of diminished illumi-
nation. For your approval . . . a group of
medieval adventurers are thrown into a
strange, incomprehensible situation. Is it
the Kung Fu disco party? A moronic game
show hosted by demons? The battle of the
Somme? The sinking of the Titanic? The
eruption of Krakatoa? Will they survive?
(doe-doo-Doo-doo, doo-doo-Doo-doo . . .)
9. Fate. One PC is selected to confront a
critical moment in her lifetime. Her future
should depend on how she handles the
predicament. The DM should devise a
situation that is appropriate for the PCs
background and goals.
10. Trial. Arrogant superbeings from
somewhere else force the party to stand
trial for the crimes of humanity (or elfdom,
48 JANUARY 1995
dwarfdom, etc.). The fate of the world as
the PCs know it may hang in the balance.
The superbeings plan to punish the party
with the same penalty the PCs have dished
out to countless monsters (i.e., death). The
trial will not be fair, but PCs who claim
ignorance and stupidity as their defense
will find the superbeings agreeable, since
they consider all mortals inherently feeble
and weak-minded. Insufferably righteous
characters will be squashed like bugs.
11. Mutation. A strange oddity of
genetics affects the party. You can use
something from the GAMMA WORLD
game or make up a mutation yourselfthe
more gruesome, the better.
12. The accommodating circum-
stance. A creature that can transmute
itself into anything takes the form of an
object the PCs need at the moment or have
always wanted. Of course, after a little
while (no more than one adventure), the
being will get bored with that form and
become something elsemaybe something
dangerous or antithetical to the party.
13. The imp of improbability. This
annoying creature cant be destroyed
either because you cant locate exactly
where he is, or if you do, by the time you
attack, hes somewhere else. The most
unusual things happen when hes around.
Water flows uphill, dragons become vege-
tarians, PCs break their +4 swords, flying
sheep fill the sky (led by Harold the clever
sheep, of course), magic backfires, etc.
The Imp hangs around until he gets bored
with the partys efforts to get rid of him.
14. Transformation. One or more
characters undergo a startling transforma-
tion. Examples are changes in race, charac-
teristics, appearance, sex, age, metabolism,
height and weight, skills, levels, or class.
Why ask why?
15. The powers that be. These are
the cosmic personifications of such quali-
ties as Liberty (lady with a book and
torch), Justice (blindfolded woman with
scales), Plague (diseased guy on a pale
horse), Greed (Ebenezer Scrooge), Cleanli-
ness (knight with magic lance that makes
white clothes whiter), Stupidity (Disneys
Goofy), etc. They are all-powerful in their
sphere of influence and either can help or
hurt the party.
16. Bazaar of the bizarre. A magic
shoppe with a difference. It looks ordi-
nary, but it actually exists on a different
plane, with the front door being a gate. No
PCs magic will function inside. It appears
full of the most powerful magical items
imaginable. The shopkeeper will not sell
any item, but will only trade for the PCs
items, at ridiculous bargain values. (PC:
Youll give me a vorpal sword for a heal-
ing potion? Shopkeeper: Sure!) How-
ever, 95% of the items in the shop turn
into worthless junk when taken outside.
17. Casino of death. You like to gam-
ble? This is the place. One problem: You
cant leave unless you win, and the only
acceptable bet is your life. Mr. Bones, the
croupier, is waiting for your roll.
18. Carnival of doom. It looks like an
ordinary 20th-century amusement park,
but the staff are monsters in disguise. To
be allowed to exit, the party most go on
each ride once. There are some problems
with the rides, however. The roller coaster
tends to leave the track, boat rides sink,
merry-go-round animals bite, bumper cars
explode on contact, etc.
19. The secret place. This ordinary-
looking village (or old house, castle, or hotel)
harbors a sinister secret. The DM must
formulate the mystery, but it should be well
hidden. Think of a terror town where
everyone seems bland and happy, or a
house of horrors with a mad scientist.
20. The siege perilous. This is the
mystical chair at the head of King Arthurs
Round Table. Only the pure of heart, or
those willing to undertake an arduous
quest, are allowed to survive after sitting
on it. The rest disappear in a burst of
flames. The chair may appear to PCs in
distress and offer to rescue them in return
for several difficult quests.

1994 by John C. Bunnell
Photography by Charles Kohl
THE SWORD OF MAIDENS TEARS
Rosemary Edghill
DAW O-88677-622-8 $4.99
Im not quite sure yet whether I liked
The Sword of Maidens Tears but I cer-
tainly came away from the novel feeling
impressed. Author Rosemary Edghill has
taken a standard fantasy premise and
given it enough dimension to make it
distinctly uncomfortable.
As in many contemporary yarns, Edghill
begins by introducing a magical entity into
the modern world. In this case, the arrival
is Rohannan Melior, an elf of noble lineage
in his own realm a number of dimensions
over from Manhattan. Almost before he
can blink, hes mugged and robbed of his
sword, a major magical artifact that
wreaks a terrible transformation on any
human who holds it.
Also true to form, Melior is found by an
earnest young graduate student who takes
him home, introduces him to her friends,
and offers to help him locate the lost
blade. But here the pattern becomes dark-
er and more intricate, because Ruth and
company are not your everyday misunder-
stood folk with hearts of gold. The five
members of the group are at once jarring
and realistic, each high-strung in one way
or another and none entirely stable psy-
chologically. Despite the physical evidence
of Meliors own existence, not everyone
wants to believe that hes real, or that hes
right in his assertion that, left unchecked,
the lost sword will eventually drive its
possessor to turn all New York into a
blood-drenched wasteland.
Edghill thus makes the novel a sort of
anti-quest, in which her protagonists are
all doing their level best to avoid confront-
ing their own self-doubts, to say nothing
of saving humanity from a threat in whose
very existence they dont want to believe.
But the evidence gradually comes together
in ways that the little groups members
cant ignore, resurrecting various personal
demons that individually and collectively
force the issue.
In some ways, this makes for tremen-
dously frustrating reading; one is fre-
quently tempted to give one or another of
the characters a good shaking in the inter-
ests of heading off impending disaster. But
Edghill takes the frustration and turns it
into suspense. Much of the novels tension
is derived from the characters stubborn
insistence that their problems will go away
if they ignore them with sufficient fervor.
For all that theyre borderline mental
cases, Edghills cast is utterly believable in
this regard, and if theyre not exactly
likeable, theyre at least ethical enough to
be sympathetic. One can imagine, all too
easily, that this is precisely how matters
might unfold in the real New York. And
thats a downright frightening thought as
events build toward a climax.
Thus the observation that The Sword of
Maidens Tears is a decidedly uncomforta-
ble novel, not one to be casually read and
filed away and forgotten. Its a sobering
reminder that not all role-playing takes
place in the context of a fantasy game
and that in real life, the stakes for which
one plays can be very high indeed.
THE LIST OF 7
Mark Frost
Avon 0-380-72019-l $5.99
The List of 7 is a difficult book to catego-
rize. There are elements of high adventure
and philosophical speculation, of historical
fiction and occult suspense, of literary
homage and pure invention. And ulti-
mately, thats the problem: Mark Frosts
novel tries so hard to be so many things
that it fails to succeed convincingly at any
one of them.
The first and perhaps most striking
oddity comes from reading what amounts
to a Sherlock Holmes novel in which
Holmes creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, is
playing the role of Watson. Though Frost
gives Doyle some of his fictional detectives
innate deductive abilities, the good doctor
spends most of the book trailing willy-nilly
in the wake of the astonishing and myste-
rious John Sparks, who alone has a full
grasp of the extraordinary plot being
hatched against the English crown. Watson
is an unexpected role for a man generally
thought of as a capable, persuasive investi-
gator in his own right, and even though
this is a comparatively young and inexperi-
enced Doyle, the portrayal simply doesnt
feel authentic.
Then again, The List of 7 is at best a
highly non-traditional Holmes yarn. Frost
makes use of the historical Doyles interest
in spiritualism to devise a plot of exotic
occult dimensions, involving a mysterious
list, a variety of strange manifestations,
men drugged into zombie-like slavery, and
an attempt to seize supernatural control of
an heir to the British throne. The overall
effect strongly resembles one of the
Indiana Jones movies, or the film Young
Sherlock Holmes of some years ago. But
while Frost invokes numerous trappings of
the occult, the novel is persistently ambig-
uous as to whether the paranormal phe-
nomena are real, or merely believed to be
so by various of the characters.
Thats a problem, especially because
Frost also plays the story as a crisis of
faith for Doyle. If Doyle (and Frost) ac-
knowledge the occult as genuine from the
first, Doyles character has no chance to
grow and change over the course of the
book. If the supernatural elements are
shown to be entirely artificial, Doyles
credulous attitude makes him appear
foolish and inept. Yet if the matter is left
without definite resolution, were left to
wonder whether the villains are merely a
deranged band of lunatics or a truly dia-
bolical threat. In trying to play both sides
of the fence, Frost robs his premise of any
real dramatic impact.
Subtracting the occult issues and the
Holmesian resonances still leaves the book
with its breathless, movie-chase adventure
quality. But thats easier to suggest after
the fact than it is to do in the reading. For
all the flaws in its conception, The List of 7
is intricately woven, each strand of theme
and event and character twining tightly
around all the others. But while the weav-
ing may be intricate, the pattern Frost
creates is like a purple and orange paisley
shirttoo loud and too chaotic to be pleas-
ant to look at.
THE WINTER PRINCE
Elizabeth E. Wein
Baen O-671-87621-X $4.99
THE CHILD QUEEN
Nancy McKenzie
Del Rey O-345-38244-7 $4.99
If the criteria for a successful Arthurian
novel is to bring some new twist to the
vast body of lore on the Matter of Britain,
then on first glance neither Elizabeth
Weins nor Nancy McKenzies works would
seem to qualify. Both Mordred (in Mary
Stewarts The Wicked Day and elsewhere)
and Guinevere (notably in an excellent
trilogy by Sharan Newman) have had the
story told from their perspective before.
But closer examination yields the startling
and pleasant discovery that both new
efforts are ambitious, distinctive, and
worthy additions to the Arthurian canon.
Of the two, Weins The Winter Prince
easily is the more unusual. The atmos-
phere is at once archaic and intimate, as
Wein adopts Welsh spellings and a rugged,
rural quality for a tale which chronicles
Medrauts return to his fathers court and
his interaction with Artos two legitimate
children, Lleu and Goewin. But while
Medraut is a more or less welcome guest
in Artos hall, he is also his mothers son,
and Morgause is the most cunning and
powerful sorceress in the British Isles.
In form, the novel consists of a manu-
script addressed by Medraut to his moth-
er, and the first-person narrative expertly
captures the tangled knot of emotions that
binds Medraut to his mother by blood, his
father by honor, and his half-siblings by a
mixture of rivalry and respect. As much or
more of Medrauts character is revealed
by allusion and oblique hint as by direct
admission, and this Medraut is a most
complicated young man. No ones willing
pawn, he nonetheless finds himself manip-
ulated by those around him and struggles
to face the world on his own terms.
The remaining players are well-realized
as well, if in rather less detailno small
achievement for Wein, who must filter
their portrayals through Medrauts eyes
and pen. She sketches each in with fine,
quick strokes and just the proper touches
of light and shadow. Morgause in particu-
lar becomes a fascinating, chilling pres-
ence, as Medraut relates her actions as
minimally as possible, yet cant escape her
pivotal influence on events.
These events are not, for the most part,
the well-known knightly deeds of the best-
known Arthurian legends. Rather, Wein
DRAGON 51
focuses tightly on Artos and his family,
and on the rise of Lleu and Goewin to
young manhood and womanhood respec-
tively. But if an Artos with legitimate heirs
is a novel concept, it is one that is impos-
sible to question while under the spell of
Weins prose, and Medrauts authoritative
narration gives the scenario a quiet credi-
bility that sets aside objections before they
can be raised.
Where The Winter Prince is subtle,
complicated, and emotionally dense
strikingly so, in a novel originally pub-
lished for younger readersNancy
McKenzies tale of Guinevere is far more
direct and straightforward. So, too, does
McKenzie present a tale of more tradition-
al Arthurian scope. The Child Queen be-
gins with Guineveres birth and moves
rapidly but not breathlessly through her
childhood, courtship, and marriage, touch-
ing on a great many familiar incidents
from the legends along the way. Indeed,
McKenzie appears to be offering no less
than a full-scale mainstream retelling of
the entire Arthurian legend, rather than a
story as tightly focused on Arthurs queen
as the title might suggest.
Yet for all that McKenzies tale is gener-
alist King Arthur, told in disarmingly
accessible prose from Guineveres first
person viewpoint, its also both fascinating
and well-presented. McKenzie has clearly
done her homework, and smoothly com-
bines the classic portrait of Camelot and
Arthur as wellsprings of chivalry and
romance with a credible grasp of the
historical realities of the day. But the style,
good as it is, isnt what makes McKenzies
saga unusual. That honor goes to a pair of
ingenious twists she works on convention-
al Arthurian lore, which combine to turn a
fresh eye on the familiar saga of tragic
romance and ill-fated love.
First of these is her use of Guineveres
foster-sister Elaine, often said to have been
romantically involved with Lancelot. In
McKenzies story, Elaine becomes much
more: she is both Guineveres closest child-
hood friend and her greatest rival, whose
desperate desire for Arthur himself leads
to treachery and betrayal of startling
proportions. This Elaine is a daring yet
highly plausible invention, changeable yet
consistent and distinctively characterized.
McKenzies second, even more ambitious
twist is to utterly redefine the relationship
between Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot,
the principals in one of legends great
romantic triangles. As she would have it,
Guinevere truly loves both men, both are
genuinely in love with her, and Arthur and
Lancelot share a brotherly bond. In itself,
this isnt revolutionary; whats startling is
the apparent assertion that the supposed
collapse of the triangle never happened.
Rather, McKenzie seems to suggest that
the supposed betrayal and liaison between
Guinevere and Lancelot was manufac-
tured out of rumor and innuendo, until
the mere appearance of illicit romance,
rather than the reality, was enough to
52 JANUARY 1995
destabilize Arthurs reign. (One cant be
entirely sure of this, since The Child
Queen is the first half of a planned duolo-
gy. But at least in this first volume, McKen-
zie strongly implies that the balance is
more unshakable than previous accounts
would have it seem.)
The two novels are a study in contrast,
one fragile yet powerful, the other dura-
bly matter-of-fact. Where Wein positions a
small, formal tale on the outskirts of tradi-
tion, McKenzie stitches a brightly colored
tapestry that spans the breadth of the
Arthurian legend. Both, however, are wise
and well-told tales that make solid contri-
butions to the lore of King Arthur. (This is
especially true of The Child Queen; if
McKenzies sequel holds to the quality and
vision of this first novel, the two together
might just prove to be the definitive Ar-
thurian retelling of their generation.)
BRIAN FROUDS FAERIELANDS:
SOMETHING RICH AND STRANGE
Patricia McKillip
Bantam O-553-09674-5 $19.95
The prose is elegant. The imagery is
vivid. The tone, like the accompanying art,
is misty-edged and airy. But triumph of
style that it is, Something Rich and Strange
is ultimately a disappointing book whose
ample visual attractions far outweigh the
merits of Patricia McKillips story.
McKillips is the second of four novels
commissioned to be drawn from the art-
work of highly regarded illustrator and
scenic designer Brian Froud. But though
her literary credentials are numerous and
well-respected, the tale she draws from
Frouds art lacks the depth and dimension
of the pictures themselves.
The novels title is drawn from Shake-
speares The Tempest, which refers to a sea-
change. And so the seashore is where
McKillip sets her story of an artist, a shop-
keeper, and their brush with magic. But
while the motif of ordinary folk crossing the
borders between the everyday world and
the realms of faerie is a venerable one,
McKillip doesnt manage to bring it off.
The trouble is that Jonah and Megan
dont themselves seem to live in reality.
Save for a few vague passages in the open-
ing pages, nothing in the novel ties their
small coastal town to the world around it.
We see little of the town at all, in facta
few other businesses are mentioned, but
there are no residential neighborhoods, no
side streets, and surprisingly few people,
local or otherwise. The buildings have no
shape or color or size, nor does the town
have any name or recognizable feature
tying it to a spot on a map somewhere.
And even within this nameless town,
Megan and Jonah share little with such
neighbors as there are. Shop, owner, and
artist could vanish into a fog and not be
missed or mourned by anyone.
Thus its hard to work up much surprise
or sympathy when Jonah does exactly
that, disappearing into the lands of the
seafolk after hearing the song of their
elemental queen. If anything, the change is
a welcome one, for McKillip gives the sea-
realm more color and depth and sense of
place than ever she provides the town
beyond the beach. Megan, of course, must
follow after and try to rescue him, but it is
difficult to understand what the shop and
town offer them to return to afterward.
McKillip gives what amounts to an ornate-
ly disguised environmental message, but
this too lacks impact considering the
shapeless gray void of a world to which
Megan and Jonah are encouraged to de-
vote themselves. It is not a world worth
the saving, and their decision to return to
it is thus unconvincing.
The descriptions are another matter.
Something Rich and Strange is full of
lyrical seascapes and exotic underwater
wonders. But thats not enough to sustain
even as short a novel as this is, especially
given that the relationship between Megan
and Jonah is taken more or less for grant-
ed. There are no crises of character here,
no sense of true growth and change, only
exotic scenery loosely connected by
strands of seaweed disguised as plot. Brian
Frouds dense, detailed artwork may be
barely enough excuse to justify buying the
book; McKillips story isnt.
SPEAR OF HEAVEN
Judith Tarr
Tor O-312-85543-5 $22.95
Ive always liked Judith Tarrs historical
fantasies for their convincing sense of
period, the ability to combine authoritative
scholarly details of time and place with the
sense of immediacy thats needed to keep
readers interested in an unfolding story.
Spear of Heaven, however, finds Tarr in a
somewhat different mode, and proves that
her skills arent limited to chronicling
magical variations on real-world history.
This new novel is the fifth to take place
on Tarrs invented world of Avaryan,
where the dominant ruling dynasty is
imbued with god-touched power. It also is,
however, a free-standing tale, and one
need not be familiar with the previous
books to enjoy this one. The opening pages
quickly establish context and cast, from
the distinguished emperor Estarion to the
practical-minded sorceress Vanyi to Esta-
rions rebellious granddaughter Daruya
and Daruyas three-year-old daughter
Kimeri. Of the four, only Vanyi is supposed
to be traveling to the far side of the world
to investigate a malfunctioning magical
Gate, but Daruya refuses to be left behind
and Kimeri surprises everyone when she
turns up as well, seemingly sensitive to the
energies of the ruined Gate.
To further complicate matters, the dead
Gate is outside Estarions lands, and the
denizens of the high, isolated valley in
which it is located are deeply suspicious of
mage-gifted folk. Though initially courte-
ous to the travelers, they are unable or
unwilling to help unravel the riddle of the
Gates fall. And some factions of the valley-
dwellers seem bent on making sure that
Vanyi and her companions neither succeed
nor survive in their quest.
Tarr unfolds the layered mysteries and
the exotic culture of Vanyis hosts with a
typical blend of elegance, sardonic humor,
high drama, and thoughtful sympathy.
Tightly constructed prose always has been
one of her strengths, but this time out its
tempered with a somewhat lighter tone
and a sense of clear delight in anything
that resembles a challenge to established
authority. And even though Avaryan is
Tarrs own creation, her dedication alludes
aptly to the legends of Shangri-La, from
which Spear of Heaven clearly draws
inspiration.
Dont be misled; the novel is briskly
paced and suspenseful, moving smoothly
from travelogue to court intrigue to open
revolt to lively romance before all the
puzzles are solved. But its also a startling-
ly playful book, one whose author is clear-
ly having great fun in the writing. As a
historical fantasist, Judith Tarr is already
first-rate, but set her loose in her own
worlds and the results are positively
vibrant.
Recurring roles
There simply isnt a good explanation for
it. The Eagle and the Nightingales (Baen,
$22.00), Mercedes Lackeys third Bardic
Voices novel, finds the author badly off
54 JANUARY 1995
her form. This time the problems lie in
uneven stage-management of her dual
protagonists and in a hazy, repetitive plot
thats utterly unlike Lackeys usual work.
Unresolved loose ends, missed opportuni-
ties, and a too-convenient royal redemp-
tion combine to form a whole that just
doesnt stand up to careful reading. Read-
ers will be well-advised to focus on Lack-
eys other series for the moment.
One prospect is Elvendude (Baen, $5.99),
Mark Shepherds first solo novel, which
connects to Lackeys assorted novels about
modern-day elven affairs. Shepherds
prose has rough spots, but the story is
fast-paced and plausibly orchestrated. Set
in and around Dallas, Texas, it follows
young elven Prince Adams race to foil an
Unseleighe drug plot while avoiding its
architects, old enemies who would cheer-
fully destroy him given the smallest
chance.
Another Sporting Chance (Baen, $5.99)
comes from Elizabeth Moon. This is the
second adventure of spaceship captain
Heris Serrano, her employer, the wealthy
Lady Cecelia, and the small army of young
nobles and star-crew personnel attached
to their entourage. Theres more space-
faring than in the prior book, and though
one twist involving a remodeling compa-
nys trade secret strikes a wrong note, the
pace and tension are well up to Moons
solid standard.
Susan Dexters newest fantasy, The
Wind Witch (Del Rey, $5.99) is likewise
enjoyable, though a much quieter, almost
domestic tale. Part of her series featuring
the magical warhorse Valadan, this entry
concerns one Druyan, the young widow of
a minor noble. Left without manpower on
a remote holding, she must somehow
harvest her crops and manage her estate
unmolested for a year and a day, until she
can legally hold it in her own right rather
than submitting to a new and unwanted
marriage at the kings whim. It seems an
odd challenge for a fantasy heroine, but
with the help of Valadan and of a mysteri-
ous captured prisoner, the tale proves
readable and wise.
Two young adult titles round out the
series list this time out. First is Hunters
Moon (Berkley, $3.99), continuing the
adventures of teenage werewolf Val Sher-
wood as told by Debra Doyle and James D.
Macdonald. Vals fathers new girlfriend is
the least of her problems; shes coping
with vampires in the neighborhood at the
moment. And vampires tend to be very
hard to kill.
Bruce Coville presents the other entry,
beginning an unusual series with Into the
Land of the Unicorns (Scholastic, $12.95).
Its a lively beginning, starting with twelve-
year-old Caras leap off the roof of a
church and into adventure, as she accepts
a mission to deliver a message to the Old-
est One. The quest is soon sidetracked,
however, when Cara loses a magical amu-
let and learns a series of startling secrets
concerning the unicorns origins, her own
heritage, and the magical realm of Luster.
Coville gives Cara a complex set of oppo-
nents and allies, and offers some intrigu-
ing twists on typical unicorn lore. Future
volumes in the cycle will be worth watch-
ing for.
 Adventures in
customer service

I994 by Jay & Dee

Dee: Hello, and welcome to our second

review column for DRAGON Magazine.
This time out, were going to be a little
more traditional and review four specific
games in depth, all of which are designed
for the IBM PC platform.
Jay: Some are old, some are new, but all
these titles are of possible interest to
DRAGON readers. We promise to review
games for Sega and Mac and so forth in
future columns. Our first title is Ultimate
Domain, published by Software Toolworks
which, by the way, seems to have been
bought out recently by Mindscape.
Dee: I was quite surprised by that when
I called for customer support. I also was a
little disheartened by the average 11-
minute wait they spoke of in their re-
corded message.
Jay: Is that a good sign, meaning that
they actually spend time on the phone
with their customers solving problems, or
a bad sign, indicating there are lots of
problems to solve? At least they warned Master of Magic (MicroProse)
you how long you might be in hold-limbo;
that was kind. Company manners aside, Jay: The biggest time-waster was being much in the way of strategy guidelines in
Ive got to confess I didnt like Ultimate forced to watch the AI take its turns. the manual. To figure out how to play it
Domain. Thats a designers decision; nothing to do well, youve got to just play.
Dee: I think it was a little bit of a stink- with sound or graphics or slow proces- Dee: So we did. We found that Ultimate
er, actually. One problem that isnt Mind- sors. There are plenty of faster strategy Domain is a little bit of strategy mixed
scapes fault is that we played the game on games. Maybe we were supposed to be with a little bit of fantasy and a little bit of
a 386, so turn processing took forever using the computer-players strategies as what-have-you. I would think that the
even with the enhanced sound turned off. little tutorial lessons: you know, look at point of mixing the 1600s colonial feel
what your opponent does first: Hint, hint. with things like balloons and The Seven
Dee: Yeah, but Id rather have an actual Jewels of Genesia would be to get the
tutorial. That way, the second time I play absolute best gameplay possible, and reali-
the game (when I know what Im doing), I ty be damned.
dont have to sit around and wait for the Jay: Exactly. Except, as is so often the
same hints to pop up over and over. case with mixed reality games, all the
Jay: Tutorials are good. Unfortunately, designers managed to do was confuse me.
Ultimate Domain doesnt have oneor Am I going for science, or exploration, or
DRAGON 57
economic growth here? Is there any bene-
fit to skipping, say, economic stability and
just rushing out to find the jewels?
Dee: Ultimate Domain starts you out in
the new world with four settlers and a
few raw materials; everything else is up to
you. It sounds exciting, except I would
think I could still contact my mother coun-
try at least occasionally. Or is that who I
sell my goods to?
Jay: It doesnt say, actually. But be fair;
Civilization only gave you one settler, and
the map was black until you discovered it.
Ultimate Domain at least shows you what
terrain and raw materials you have, and
what the land around you looks like.
Dee: True. Okay, so when you start the
game, you give your settlers jobs such as
woodcutter, architect, and specialist.
Woodcutters turn trees into logs, archi-
tects use wood, stone, and metal to make
various kinds of buildings, and specialists
make the goods I mentioned selling.
Jay: But you cant sell them until you
build a shop, and you have more impor-
tant things to build at first. For your
farmers to increase your food stores, they
need fields to work. For water, you need
to dig wells. And to get more than a few
raw materials per turn, you need to build
drills. Why does it keep saying We need
stone when we have plenty of stone?
Dee: I think that means that we ran-
domly got fewer than two stone this turn,
but it doesnt say in the manual. The be-
ginning game, as you can see, is supposed
to be a decision-making extravaganza: Do I
build fields and wells right off, to feed
everyone, or do I go for a drill and a ware-
house to stockpile raw materials? Or
should I build a workshop and start right
in on scientific discoveries?
Jay: Right. The way it comes out,
though, is that you must absolutely build a
drill first or you dont have enough raw
materials to do anything else. Then you
need a warehouse so you can store the
materials the drill produces. After that,
you must have fields and wells or the food
runs out. Then you start making decisions
about the rest of the game goals.
Dee: One of the most interesting and
annoying things (both at the same time, a
neat trick!) are the seasons. In spring, rain
and lightning cover the isomorphic 3-D
view, and trees on your domain occasion-
ally burst into flame. In summer, every-
thing is lush and green, and birds are
singing. In fall, the trees turn brown and
winds blow. In winter, wolves howl and
snow covers everything.
Jay: Its pretty, but ultimately of little
value. The isomorphic view sometimes
makes it hard to see things behind other
things. (Where did that soldier go? Oh, hes
hidden behind a tree.) A top-down view
wouldnt have looked as good, but it sure
would have been easier to use.
Dee: Yup. The other really annoying
thing about the seasons is the restrictions
imposed in each one, and the restrictions
on changing settlers jobs. Each season is a
58 JANUARY 1995
Master of Magic (MicroProse)
turn. During the turn, you can give each
settler a job. Only thing is, she doesnt
start work until the following season.
Jay: There are a few jobs, like specialist
(the guy or girl who makes luxuries) that
start right away. Dee is right about the
rest. The other annoying thing is that in
some seasons, people dont do their jobs
wellor at all. Farmers arent working at
optimum during summer, the manual says,
the way they are during spring and fall.
Nearly everybody stays indoors in the
winter.
Dee: Again, I suspect this was done to
make it feel like there were more deci-
sions to make: Should I take my farmers
off work in spring so they can be doing
something more productive in summer?
Should I move everyone to indoor special-
ist jobs in winter?
Jay: What ends up happening, though,
is that you leave everyone doing exactly
what they were doing, because the restric-
tions are so severe that you end up losing
more than you gain by trying to maximize
the minimum return (the theory known as
min-maxing).
Dee: Which means that its really no
decision at all. You leave a settler at a job
until shes done enough of it so that you
dont need her to do it anymore, then you
move her to some other job.
Jay: Or him. See, another detail in the
game is that each settler has a sex and age.
As they age, settlers can lose morale, take
sick, and die. On the other hand, if you
build bigger houses for them, a man and a
woman can move in together and have a
baby, which will become a new settler in a
few turns (the manual kindly points out
that you dont have to wait 64 turns for
the baby to grow up to working age!).
Dee: Yes, houses are a very important
part of the game. If you dont build them,
you dont get any new settlersand not
just because theres no place for the set-
tlers to sleep together. If you build empty
houses, nomads appear and give you new
settlers to work with. No kidding!
Jay: Those new settlers are vital. If your
population doesnt grow, youre just spin-
ning your wheels.
Dee: So after we finally figured out how
to finish building a house
Jay: The manual says that architects
continue working through the winter, but
mentions in another place that the only
thing they dont build in the winter is
houses, which we missed the first time we
played.
Dee: we got a new settler. By that time
we had a workshop and a settler acting as
a scientist, studying new technologies, So
we made our new settler into a soldier.
Jay: For which we needed to build a
barracks first. The soldier then went off to
explore nearby lands and conquer them to
expand our territory.
Dee: Only trouble was, we did exactly
what it said in the rules manual to con-
quer the new territory and start a new
colony thereand it didnt work. The
soldier was supposed to become a settler
and start working the land, giving us a
new place to build a warehouse (our old
one was getting full). But he didnt do it.
That was when we tried to call customer
service.
Jay: Hey, maybe we needed to go to the
settler/job screen and move his icon
around to tell him not to be a soldier any
more.
Dee: Could be, but it didnt say anything
in the manual about that.
Jay: You know, thats the third time
weve said that.
Dee: Well, Im sorry, but the manual is
not very helpful. We had a really hard
time finding information in it, including
how to quit the game!
Jay: Thats true. I know there are a lot
of people out there who dive right into
games without looking at the manual, but I
like to read the rules first. Maybe its the

Master of Magic (MicroProse)
editor in me.
My summary is that Ultimate Domain
looks good, but works very, very slowly.
Theres too much micro-management on
the part of the player, and its too hard to
get going. There are no milestones pop-
ping up that keep you playing, and the
decisions you make are dull.
Jays rating: * *
Dee: I agree, mostly. On a faster ma-
chine it might not have been so tedious to
wait for the next turn. And as we got
more experienced, we might have found
ourselves growing faster and gaining new
territory and getting to all the good stuff
technology and balloons and temples and
finding the Seven Jewels of Genesia!
Jay: Yeah, but having to research the
cure to each of six different diseases?
What's the point?
Dee: You're right.
Dee's rating: * *
Jay: Our next game is Genghis Khan II
from Koei, the people who brought us
Bandit Kings of Ancient China. You'll re-
member that was one of our picks from
our column in issue #211.
Dee: Yeah, so we were predisposed to
like Genghis Khan II. The interface and
game engine are very similar to Bandit
Kings, even though this is a newer game.
There are some new features, but it uses
the same basic mechanics to run your
territory and give orders.
Jay: I anticipated that this game would
be a new generation of Bandit Kings, but
actually, Genghis is more like a colorized
versionthe graphics are pretty old-
fashioned compared to the 3-D maps of
Ultimate Domain, or the bug-hunting
detail of Space Hulk (which well get to a
little later). Still, there are great portraits,
and an even wider range of cultures:
depending on the scenario, you can con-
quer Japanese samurai, Indian mughuls,
even European crusaders! Why stop at
Constantinople? You can sweep through to
conquer England!
Dee: Hey, take it easythis is a review
were writing, not ad copy. The way I look
at it, when youre doing a follow-up game,
DRAGON 59
 you want to keep the mechanics that
work, but you want to add something new
as wellabout 20% of a sequel game
should be brand new innovations. Thats
where I think Genghis Khan II falls short.
Theyve added more detail, but nothing
really exciting. In Bandit Kings, your lead-
er got tired if you asked him to do too
much. In this game, he has a finite number
of body points to spend each turnso
you know exactly when hell get tired.
Pretty much the same thing.
Jay: What about the neat isomorphic
3-D combat graphics? Thats new!
Dee: True, true . . . and thats definitely
the most interesting part of the game, in
the same way that the battles in Bandit
Kings were the most interesting part.
Jay: I dont think the battles are the
most interesting part at all. I liked going
hunting for tigers, and wandering into the
market to listen for rumors of who might
join my cause.
Dee: Yes, but the entire point of the
political and economic parts of both these
games is to arrange alliances and raise
armies so you can conquer your neigh-
bors. Theres no way to win Genghis Khan
II (or Bandit Kings, for that matter) with-
out fightingwhich is what youd expect
from a game about the worlds greatest
conqueror.
Jay: If thats true, then why do they
bother putting in stuff like hunting tigers
and visiting your children and your wife,
dealing with merchants, and so on?
Dee: To puff the games up, I guess. So
that they wont feel like just plain war
games.
Jay: I think youre wrong. I think those
things add to the overall feel of the game.
The difference between Genghis and
Bandit Kings was that Genghis hid its
texture beneath too many layers of menus.
They cant trick me. It felt like just a war
game.
Dee: I agree. Its funnythere are actu-
ally more decisions to make in the non-
war aspects of Genghis. When you begin,
you control just a few provinces in what-
ever area youve chosen. Like Bandit
Kings, the game can be played by multiple
people taking turns sitting at the com-
puter, and there are several different
scenarios. You can start as a warlord in
Mongolia, and attempt to conquer the
Steppes, or you can begin on a larger-scale
map and go after all of Europe.
Jay: That looked pretty neatall the
different cultures and types of troops
available. However, we played the Mongo-
lian conquest scenario for our review. In
that, you start with one or two provinces,
earning income and wealth from each
province. You also have some troops and a
supply of generals and advisors in place.
Dee: Some of the decisions you can
make include switching the default orders
for a province (the ones youre not run-
ning act according to specific guidelines
that you set up), switching or promoting
generals and advisors, talking to your
60 JANUARY 1995
family, examining provinces, raising and
training and arming troops, moving com-
modities around, and improving the eco-
nomics of your province.
Jay: Some of the decisions are pretty
uniquesuch as talking to your family. If
you visit your wife, she can give you hints
about your various generals and advisors.
An interesting touch, and it gives a female
character something important to do. Im and even cannon! And in the European
all for it. An even more important out-
come of your visit is that later on, she has
a baby who can grow up to be one of your
generals. If you get killed, he might even
succeed to your empire!
Dee: This seems to be a common theme,
these games where you have kids. Maybe
the designers are all reaching the age
where their biological clocks are ticking.
Jay: Anyway, each decision you make
costs body points, so you can make only so
many in a turn. You can maximize your
production by micro-managing, but to
save body points its wiser to let your
advisors handle a lot of things. The better
you get at delegation, the better youll do
in the game.
Dee: Which means that your expanding
empire never really expands the tasks you
the player have to perform, or affects
your ability to perform them. The game is
having all the fun.
Jay: Bandit Kings had a similar mechanic.
Dee: Yeah, I know. I think part of the
difference is the very addition of the extra
decisions. Bandit Kings was simple and
straightforward: You recruited heroes to
lead your armies and used your armies to
defeat the evil Gao Quiu. Here, the design-
ers have attempted to duplicate the feel of
being Emperor of an expanding nation, by
giving you lots of national decisions to
make, and a nebulous conquer the world
goal. As a situation, its much more open-
ended and war game-likeand a little
more dull.
Jay: I like open-endedness as a concept,
and some of the extra decisions, but youre
right. Some new stuff is just trappings and
doesnt really add to the game.
Dee: The worst stumbling block was the
merchant system. In Bandit Kings, you
always could spend some body points and
go to market. You could sell food and fur,
buy arms, and recruit new heroes.
Jay: But in Genghis Khan II, you have to
wait for merchants to come to your terri-
tory before you can trade. You can be
trained up and ready to buy arms and go
to warwith the one and only thing stop-
ping you the random placement of a silly
wandering merchant.
Dee: I believe this is meant to encourage
you to expand your territory: the more
provinces you control, the greater the
odds of a merchant being in one of them.
Jay: But thats dumb. The whole object
of the game is to conquer territory; I dont
need artificial incentives. And as I conquer
more territory, I get more direct tax in-
come and so have less and less need for
the merchants.
Dee: I didnt say it made sense, I just
said I thought I knew why they did it. So
once youve got enough money, you can
buy various types of troops. There are a
lot more details to the combats than in
Bandit Kings, and this is where Genghis
Khan II starts to shine.
Jay: Yup. Cataphracts (mounted bow-
men), pikemen, archers, Mongol hordes,
game there are samurai!
Dee: I think the readers have noticed
you like the samurai. Once youve bought
troops, you have to buy arms and train
them, just like in Bandit Kings. Then
youre ready to go to war.
Jay: The battles have a two-step level
detail. An invasion starts on a battle boa
where you direct your legions to attack
various targets, or go into ambush mode
in woods and towns. One nice thing is that
you can attack to conquer the territory
killing your opponents #1 Legion, or you
can make raids where you simply occupy
towns and then retreat.
Dee: Each turn you spend occupying an
enemy town gains you gold and food, and
lowers the popularity of the ruler of that
province. I agree, a nice touch.
Jay: Once youve maneuvered your le-
gions to meet your opponents on the battle
board, the battle sequence switches to a
close-up tactical screen. Your little horse
units gallop, your little artillery roll. . . .
Dee: Yes, and they look good, too. They
are isomorphic 3-D images, meaning a sort
of cross between a top-down view and
sideways, as in Sim City 2000or Ultimate
Domain (reviewed above). Each legion is
made of four units, which can be mixed
when you create them. Its nice to have
the option of having cavalry, artillery, and
infantry work together with something
like coherence.
Jay: Close-up battles are pretty simple
the interface is a little clumsy, but we
moved pretty fast once we got the hang of
it. A unit flashes to show its ready. You
choose from a menu of options. If you
choose move, the board shades in the
areas to which that unit can move.
Dee: If you select any square in that
area, the unit moves there. Units are sev-
eral squares wide, so until they take casu-
alties, theyre big and cant fit two abreast
to attack castles through their gates. And
since units on walls can fire down at the
field, storming castles is pretty difficult,
which is as it should be.
Jay: Yes, and it shows you why; its not
just abstract fewer casualties.
Dee: When you want to attack, the
board shades to show how far you can
attack. If you choose near, its a melee; if
you choose far, its bows.
Jay: You also can charge, which does
damage to your troops as well as to your
opponentbut it shakes the enemy and
makes it likely theyll break and run.
Dee: One annoying thing is that if a unit
has no enemies in range, the designers
dont gray out the Attack option. You can
 choose it, select near and find you cant
attack anyone. Then you select far and
find you still cant attack anyone!
Jay: A minor problem. Other nice
touches include the tiny arrows flying
around, the numbers appearing above a
units head to indicate how many men are
left, and the neat sound effects and visuals
when units get stunned by missile fire or
broken by cavalry charges.
Dee: So thats the game in a nutshell. I
think the battles are fun, and the sur-
rounding parts arent too obtrusive. There
are some annoying rules and restrictions,
and its less focused than Bandit Kings, but
still interesting.
Dees rating: * * , maybe * * *
Jay: I think it depends on what you like.
If you just like fighting, its got lots of
interesting details, and it deserves a higher
rating. But if you like atmosphere, charac-
ter, and economic and political decision-
making that makes a difference, it falls
short.
Jays rating: * * or * * *
Dee: Now on to a game that we both
liked fairly well, Master of Magic from
MicroProse. It was designed by the SimTex
group, the people who did Master of Ori-
on, but it bears obvious allegiance to Civili-
zation. We both loved Civ, so again we
were predisposed to like Master of Magic.
Jay: And we werent disappointed by
the game. But before we review the game
itself, let me just warn you all: we got the
first-shipped version of the game, and it
was buggy. Things didnt work the way
they were supposed to. It crashed when
certain spells were cast, with Sound
Error messages. The AI seemed a little
wimpy. So we called customer support,
and they sent us a patch disk.
Dee: A patch disk contains fixes for
bugs that have been found in an already
released product. We copied the patch
disk into our Master of Magic directory,
and unzipped it. Now the game plays
much, much better.
Jay: The moral of the story: Always try
customer support if youre having prob-
lemsif the company youre dealing with
has a decent staff, you might actually get
through. Some of them are on-line now,
which should make access even easier. And
be a little wary of buying a game when it
first comes out.
Dee: That said, we can talk about the
merits of the game, which are many. This
is one where your decision-making starts
from the get-go, theres lots of cool stuff to
see and do, and the game progresses in a
logical and orderly fashion to a satisfying
conclusion. In the game, you play a wizard
who starts out as leader of one little ham-
let. You can order your hamlet to build a
variety of things, and as you add to it,
more troops become available. At the same
time, you are accumulating mana (magic)
points, which you can use immediately to
research new spells or increase your
62 JANUARY 1995
casting skill, or save in a pool to actually
cast spells with later.
Jay: As we said, its a lot like Civiliza-
tion, but there are plenty of differences.
For one thing, you can customize your
wizard at the start of the game. You
choose which type or types of magic you
likesorcery or nature magic, life or
death or chaosand how deeply into your
field of study you want to be. If youd
rather dabble in everything, you can.
You also determine what special abilities
you have, if any. Dee goes for the Warlord
ability, because Warlords recruit better
armies. Im fond of the Channeling ability,
which lets my wizard cast spells over long
distances without a penalty.
Dee: Its not that I love the armies or
anythingI just think that the games
mechanics reward combat and make life
difficult for spell-casters; Im only keeping
up with the AI wizards.
Jay: My Myrran Wizard is romping
through her spell research, though. I think
youre just more bloodthirsty than I am.
Dee: And whats your wizard research-
ing, but spells to attack monsters?
Jay: Yeah, but they are monsters.
Theres no reasoning with them . . . and
they have treasures that I want. In fact,
one of the best things about Master of
Magic is the variety: the variety of trea-
sures, the variety of heroes, the variety of
races, the variety of wizards. You can have
up to four opponents. These AI wizards
are randomly chosen from a pool of 12, so
the game plays differently each time,
depending on the strengths and interests
of your rivals.
Dee: Your wizard starts as one of those
12 templates too, although you can cus-
tomize her, as Jay said. Sometimes I pick
the one Im least interested in facing as an
opponent.
Jay: Like in Civilization, there are two
possible outcomes for MOM. You either
can conquer the world militarily, or you
can win through research, by being the
wizard to successfully cast the Spell of
Mastery. Even if youre leaning toward
armed conquest, there are still plenty of
opportunities for spell-casting.
Dee: One of the neatest tricks is con-
quering the city that houses a rivals en-
chanted fortress. If you manage this, the
wizard is not killed, but banished from the
world.
Jay: The animation is wonderfully satis-
fying. The rival wizard stares in horror as
you advance and cast a blue bolt that
melts him into a two-dimensional shadow,
and then nothingness. Its possible, accord-
ing to the manual, for a banished wizard
to return to the game, if she can generate
the necessary mana to cast the Spell of
Returning.
Dee: Of course, once youve vanquished
a wizard, you take the opportunity to mop
up all his cities while the boss isnt there to
cast spells at you. So weve never seen one
come back yet, but the pressure of know-
ing your rival might return gives the game
an added spice.
Jay: Your opponents are not just the
rival wizards. MOMS two planes, or
worlds, abound with ruins, monster lairs,
neutral cities, and magical nodes that
generate power you can harness.
Dee: So theres a little bit of everything
in MOM. Youve got your dungeon crawls,
your role-playing, your economic develop-
ment, your combat. . . .
Jay: And with an interface thats much
less cumbersome than Genghis Khan or
Ultimate Domain. And lets not forget a
really neat feature called Itemmake. You
type that before starting the game, and
you can customize all the magical items
you can find as treasure when you play.
Just remember the more powerful you
make the goodies, the bigger the monsters
guarding them will be.
Dee: Thats very cool. If I was disap-
pointed by anything in MOM, it was the
aforementioned imbalance toward fight-
ing, and a feeling that the AI isnt really up
to snuff. Otherwise, its addictive and
highly repeatable, and Ive been playing it
a lot just because I want to.
Dees rating: * * * *
Jay: I only wish it was more like Civ in
its diplomacy. You cant bribe cities or
units in MOM, you must conquer them,
which may be one reason Dee feels that
combat is too important. It would be nice
to be able to compare your overall score
from one game to the next, as well. But
neither of these quibbles diminishes my
desire to play this game into the wee
hours.
Jays rating: * * * *
Dee: Now on to our final game for this
column, Space Hulk from Electronic Arts.
This is a science-fiction game based on the
popular Games Workshop board game.
Again, I was hoping to like Space Hulk
because I had played the board game and
found it intriguing.
Jay: In fact, we played Space Hulk long-
er than any other reviewed game. You
seemed determined to like it.
Dee: Yes. And Im sad to say, it disap-
pointed me in the end. The gimmick of the
board game is timed turns combined with
the ability to interrupt your opponents
turn. Basically, the computer game tries to
recreate thisand fails.
Jay: Space Hulk reminds me a lot of the
movie Aliens. The good guys are Imperi-
al soldiers, dressed in huge suits of power
armor, carrying weapons like Flame
Throwers and Storm Bolters. The bad
guys are called Genestealers, but they look
suspiciously like H. R. Gigers aliens.
Dee: The basic idea of any scenario is
that a giant, empty spaceshipa Space
Hulkhas been found floating in the void.
On board are wonderful scientific gadgets
the Imperium desperately wants. Also on
board are hordes of deadly Genestealers.
Jay: In the board game, the Imperial
player has a certain amount of time, say one
 minute, to complete his turn. At the begin-
ning of his turn, he draws a chit that tells
him how many Command Points hes got.
Dee: Then, during the Genestealer
players turn, the Imperial player can
interrupt and spend Command Points to
take opportunity shots or quick-moves.
Theres a lot of uncertainty, bluff, and
planning necessary on both sides.
Jay: Space Hulk, the computer game, is
for one player. You command an Imperial
squad of five troopers (some scenarios let
you control two squads). You have one
fairly large window that shows you what
trooper #l sees. Four smaller windows
show you what the others are seeing; you
can click in any window to make that one
the primary view.
Dee: It looks a lot like the scene in Ali-
ens where the lieutenant is watching all
the monitors to see what his squad is
doing. In the same way, you can give or-
ders to each trooper in his window, to
move or fire. This all happens in real time.
Controlling five guys in real time while the
computer is controlling the Genestealers
(who have an infinite supply of troops and
charge to rend you limb from limb) is, of
course, impossible.
Jay: One difference from Aliens is that
you have to hand-hold your troopers
through each step of their moves; theyre
really dumb.
Dee: Exactly. Sounds like not much fun,
right? But, heres the kicker: you also have
a limited supply of Freeze Time, which
allows you to halt the action, give orders
to each trooper individually, then make
them execute all orders simultaneously.
Jay: It really gives you the feel of coor-
dinating complex maneuvers. When it
works, its satisfying to watch.
Dee: Of course, when you screw up and
they traffic-jam, you have to go in there
and order them around individually to
clear things up.
Jay: And meanwhile, the Genestealers
are scuttling up to attack you.
Dee: Yup. Once you turn Freeze Time
off, everything starts happening at once.
You always can stop time again and give
more orders, but as I said, you only have a
limited amount of Freeze Time. Once it
runs out, the game starts up in real time
whether you want it to or not.
Jay: Except that you earn more Freeze
Time for every second the game is run-
ning in real time. Besides that very first
training mission, I never noticed you actu-
ally running out of Freeze Time.
Dee: Yeah, that seems to be one of the
problems. If you choose, and you will
choose, you can pretty much stay in
Freeze Time for the entire game. Which
means it goes from being a real-time nail-
biter into a board game on the computer.
Jay: Isnt that what you wanted?
Dee: No. I wanted a computer game that
was faithful to the elements of the board
game. I think they tried to do that, but
failed.
Jay: I agree. Every time we went into

DRAGON 63
was impossible to stay alive. The first time
I played DOOM was like that too: full bore
down the corridorSplat! Youre dead!
Except you get resurrected instantaneous-
ly in DOOM, and in Space Hulk you go to
the mission failure screen, and have to
start over again. We constantly had to stop
the action and give orders on the over-
head view just to stay alive.
Dee: Exactly, and it would have been a
lot more fun to have a more equal mix of
order-giving and real time. One way to do
that would have been to have the real-time
action move a little slower. Then we would
have had the moral equivalent of Com-
mand Pointswe could go in there with
some hope of success to give a specific
order to someone.
Jay: As it was, whenever we watched
one monitor to give a guy a specific order
in real time, two other troopers were busy
getting killed.
Dee: And that was with two of us
watching the monitors! Another flaw that
Jay alluded to is the overhead view. In
order to give anything like decent orders,
you really have to have an overhead full-
map view of whats going on. Unfortu-
nately, the overhead view is so detailed
and so full that theres no reason to ever
use the monitor views.
Jay: No reason at allwell, one annoy-
ing reason. We played one entire mission
64 January 1995
artifact we needed to pick up only shows
in monitor view.
Dee: So we did it over againpractice
does help you find your way around, just
like DOOMand this time we used the
monitor view to find and acquire the
artifact.
Jay: But then we got a report of mission
failure, even though we think we did
everything we were supposed to. I still say
you dropped the artifact.
Dee: Maybe. My trooper certainly
wasnt bright enough to mention it.
Jay: Space Hulk also has a campaign
game, where you can take the same squad
through several missions, and surviving
troopers can gain experience and earn the
right to have better weapons. We had so
much trouble with the scenarios that we
never got to a campaign.
Dee: There wouldnt have been much
point, for us. One last note: We had trou-
ble with the music crashing the game, and
had to call customer service (sense a
theme in this column?). EAs support was
pretty fast, and clearly theyd had this
problem a lot, because the representative
read off a cheat-sheet instructing us to
simply delete the sound directories and
play the game in silence!
Jay: Unfortunate, but at least we got
through to them. So, Space Hulk was very
frustrating for me, even after we started
the same scenario over and over, until I
know exactly where the monsters are
going to be, just so I can gun em down.
Not my cup of tea. The graphics in the
monitors were cool-looking, but to suc-
cessfully play you had to ignore them; and
the stop-and-go nature of the game system
was really jarring.
Jays rating: *
Dee: I kept feeling as though I should be
able to do better next time, which is one
hallmark of a good game. I was never
actually able to do better, though, which is
not a hallmark of a good game. Maybe its
just us, but Space Hulk seemed too diffi-
cult, and the emphasis in the design was
on the wrong things. Also, I missed being
able to relax and play the Genestealers
occasionally.
Dees rating: l l
Jay: So thats it for this month. Look for
us again in two months, when we hope to
review, among others, Sierras new Bug
Wars. Sayonara!
Dee: Ciao. Write to us (in care of the
magazine) if you have something youd like
to say about any of the games weve re-
viewed, or if youve got suggestions for
games we should look at in the future. See
you in two!
 Forum welcomes your comments and
opinions on role-playing games. In the
United States and Canada, write to: Fo-
rum, DRAGON Magazine, P.O. Box 111,
Lake Geneva WI 53147 U.S.A. In Europe,
write to: Forum, DRAGON Magazine, TSR
Ltd, 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton,
Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom. We
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You must give us your name and full mail-
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mitted anonymously), but we will withhold
your name if you ask us to do so. We
will print your complete address if you
request it.
Being a long-time AD&D game player
and DM I know almost every aspect of the
game, especially FORGOTTEN REALMS
and DRAGONLANCE settings. In the past
eight years, six of them as a DM, I have
created many spells, magical items, new
races, classes, and rules.
One rule in particular involves the con-
flict of player-character knowledge. There
are things a veteran player obviously
knows; but whos to tell that her character
knows that information? For example, if a
group of PCs are in temple ruins and
encounter an undead creature, my physi-
cal description may be all too familiar to
the player, but how would a lst- or 2nd-
level character know exactly what this is
and what it can do?
On many occasions Ive seen players
cheat using their knowledge that their
characters wouldnt know. Heres a simple
solution to that problem. First of all,
change the monsters abilitiesmake it
stronger or weaker, perhaps give it a
different immunity, or even have a differ-
ent monster be present, cloaking itself to
appear as what the player characters see.
Second, I would like to comment on the
Alignment Tracking chart in the
DRAGONLANCE Adventures hardcover
book. This is an excellent tool for new
DMs and players with alignment-
restrictive characterssuch as paladins,
rangers, or clerics of a strict religious
order. I recommend innovating this into
other campaign settings to facilitate a
characters alignment status.
Also, to enhance this not-so-new idea,
the DM can create a list, as determined by
individual characters, that decides which
actions move the alignment status up or
down the chart.
Joseph Mills
Fredericksburg VA
(currently in USAF, Okinawa, Japan)
In issue #202, Travis Gillespie requested
a list of parallels between the lands of the
FORGOTTEN REALMS setting and our
own world. Like Mr. Gillespie, I think such
equivalents add a lot of fun and realism to
a campaign, so Ive put together a list of
the parallels that I use in my own cam-
paigns. Ive left out demihuman nations,
and there are some places in the Realms
that I admit I just dont know much about.
I indicate these with a question mark.
Main sources for information on each area
are also listed.
Aglarond: ? (I put in my own ideas
against a rural European background.)
FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign Set (old
and new editions), by Ed Greenwood &.
Jeff Grubb; FR6 Dreams of the Red Wiz-
ards, by Steve Perrin.
Amn: Renaissance Italy (including the
fun accents!). Another possibility would be
Spain and Portugal at the time of the dis-
covery of the New World (which would be
Maztica in this case). FR3 Empires of the
Sands, by Scott Haring.
Bawa: ? (I use an Oriental land set on a
lush, tropical island flavor, complete with
the occasional gargantua, as seen in many
cheesy Japanese films.) I assume details
are in the Kara-Tur, the Eastern Realms
boxed set by Batista, Christian, Nephew,
Swan, and Pondsmith.
The Border Kingdoms: ? (I use a magic-
rich, high-fantasy setting with a touch of
Persian culture.) Mentioned briefly in FR3.
Calimshan: Magic-rich Persia/Turkey. FR3.
Chessenta: Greece (Climbar is similar to
Athens; Akanax, Soorenar, and Sirspur are
all similar to Sparta). FRl0 Old Empires, by
Scott Bennie.
Chondath: ? (I treat it as a mercantile,
magic-rich area where I put in my own
ideas). Passing mentions in FR boxed set,
both editions.
Chult: Land lost to time Africa (includ-
ing dinosaurs!). Featured in FRM1 The
Jungles of Chult, by Jim Lowder & Jean
Rabe.
Cormyr: England at the time of the
Crusades, and thereafter. There is a lot of
detail on Cormyr in both the old and new
FR set.
The Dales: Robin Hood England. The
Dales are heavily detailed in the FR set and
in FRSl The Dalelands, by L. Richard
Baker III.
Damara: I go by the information given in
FR9 The Bloodstone Lands, by R. A. Salva-
tore, and the Bloodstone Quartet (H1-H4)
by Douglas Niles, Michael Dobson, and Ed
Greenwood. Damara is a good place to
stage gritty political adventures.
Dupar: Ancient lands at the eastern end
of the Mediterranean Sea, such as Turkey
at the time of the Crusades, or, possibly,
the Ottoman Empire (although the latter is
more modern). FR16 The Shining South,
by Tom Prusa.
Estagund: A mercantile version of medi-
eval lands around the eastern end of the
Mediterranean Sea. It also could be used
as one of the territories chafing under the
rule of the Ottoman Empire (although
again, this is somewhat modern). FR16.
Gulthmere: ? (As far as I know, this place
hasnt been described anywhere. Whether
it is a nation or the name of that forest, I
dont know.)
Gundarlun, Ruathym, Tuern, and the
Purple Rocks: Norse vikings settings. FR5
The Savage Frontier, by Paul Jaquays.
Halruaa: Halruaa doesnt really have an
earth-based parallel. I use it as a magic-
rich, high-fantasy area. FR16.
The Hordelands: Mongolia and nearby
Russia and China. The Horde boxed set, by
David Cook.
Impiltur: Traditional Europe. I pretty
much follow the information in FR9.
Khazari: Indo-Asia (complete with lamas,
fakirs, and snake charmers!). See The
Horde boxed set.
Koryo and Kozakura: Japan. See the
Kara-Tur boxed set.
Lantan: This island really doesnt have
an earth-based equivalent. I use it to com-
bine magic and technology to good effect.
It receives a brief mention in the FR set.
Lapaliiya: ? As far as I know, this area
has yet to be described.
Malatra: ? (I use an Oriental land amidst
lush tropical jungles theme, a little like
the lands of ancient Malaysia and the
Philippines.) I assume details are found in
the Kara-Tur boxed set.
Maztica: Mayan/Aztec Central America.
See the Maztica boxed set, by Douglas
Niles and Tim Beach.
DRAGON 67
 The Moonshae Isles: The parts of the
Isles inhabited by the Northmen make
good Norse vikings settings. FR2 Moon-
shae, by Douglas Niles.
Mulhorand: Egypt (including pharaohs
and mummies!). FR10.
Murghom: Egypto-Persian cross. See The
Horde set.
Narfell: Narfell has its own distinct fla-
vor, as described in FR9. The Nars also
could be treated as a combination of the
Mongolian-like Tuigan culture (see The
Horde) and that of the North American
Indians.
Nimbral: ? (I use it as a magic-rich, high-
fantasy setting). It receives passing men-
tion in the FR set and also is featured in
Volume 2 of the Cloakmaster Cycle, Into
the Void, by Nigel Findley.
The North: Frontier setting. The
Uthgardt also give the region much of its
flavor. FR5. (I give the Uthgardt even more
of a North American Indian feel than they
already have in FR5).
Pelvuria: The Ulutiuns have an Inuit-
based culture (complete with igloos and
sled-dogs). FR14 The Great Glacier, by Rick
Swan.
Petan: ? (I use an Oriental land in a
lush, steamy jungle setting.) I assume
details are in the Kara-Tur boxed set.
The Pirate Isles: Both those of the Inner
Sea and the Nelanther make a great set-
tings for the standard pirate story, such as
Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Steven-
son. The Nelanther are detailed in FR3,
and the Pirate Isles of the Inner Sea in the
FR set and FOR3 Pirates of the Fallen
Stars, by Curtis Scott.
Ra-Khati: Indo-Asia. See The Horde set.
Rashemen: Rashemen has its own flavor,
as described in the FR box, briefly in The
Horde boxed set, and I assume, FR6.
Sembia: Mercantile Europe during the
Crusades and thereafter. The large cities
could be used as England at the start of
the Industrial Revolution, although this is
somewhat modern. FR set.
Semphar: Persia. See The Horde set.
Sespech: ? Brief mention in the new
edition of FR box.
The Shaar: Africa/Aboriginal Australia.
FR set.
Shou Lung: China. See the Kara-Tur set.
Sossal: ? Sossal is briefly described in the
old and the new FRO and The Horde set.
Tabot: ? (I use an Indo-Asian flavor set
against the backdrop of the Himalayas.
Tabot sounds a little like Tibet, eh?). I
assume details can be found in the Kara-
Tur set.
Tethyr: France at the time of the French
Revolution and shortly thereafter (com-
plete with big white wigs!). FR3.
Thay: Thay doesnt really have an earth-
based equivalent. FR6.
Thesk: ? (I use a traditional European
background). It is briefly described in the
new FR set and in Volume 3 of the Em-
pires Trilogy, Crusade, by James Lowder.
Threskel: Troy, under the control of the
Greeks (Chessentans). FR10.
68 JANUARY 1995
Tu Lung: China/Manchuria. See the
Kara-Tur set.
Turmish: ? (I use a mercantile Turkish
flavor). It was mentioned in passing in
Volume 1 of the Finders Stone Trilogy,
Azure Bonds, by Jeff Grubb and Kate
Novak.
Ulgarth: Medieval Spain, or for a more
modern feel, Spain at the time of the dis-
covery of the New World. In this case, the
New World could be Maztica or Zakhara.
FR16.
Unther: Babylon. FR10.
Vaasa: Vaasa has a flavor all of its own,
as described in FR9.
Var the Golden: A mercantile version of
the medieval lands at the eastern end of
the Mediterranean Sea, such as Turkey. A
more modern possibility would be a terri-
tory under the rule of the Ottoman Em-
pire (Durpar). FR16.
Wa: ? (I use an Oriental version of the
magic-rich, high-fantasy setting seen else-
where in the Realms). Details can be found
in the Kara-Tur set.
Zakhara: Persia/Arabia. See Arabian
Adventures by Jeff Grubb and Andria
Hayday, and the Land of Fate boxed set by
Jeff Grubb.
Rob Gidlow
I am concerned with the ever-rising
prices in the gaming industry. I under-
stand that prices rise due to inflation and
such, but some of the prices Ive seen
recently have driven me to write this
letter. A little over a year ago, a pack of
lead miniatures with four figures cost
$4.00. Now, a pack of two or three minia-
tures made from lead-free metal costs
anywhere from $6.95-$8.95 or higher.
There also is a need for more common
monsters and such to be produced in a
wider variety of poses. Games also have
been affected. The average price of an
RPG now is close to $30.00! And supple-
ments for them average from $15.00 to
$30.00 also. I know that the companies
making these products are in business to
make money, but how can you get people
involved in a hobby that keeps getting
more and more expensive every day?
Jason Whitbeck
Wayne MI
After running a game with the fiends in
MC8, the Outer Planes Appendix, I have
just one question: why havent these crea-
tures taken over the world a long time
ago? Under the new rules, both their
gating abilities and their interest in the
Prime Material Plane have been substan-
tially increased. One uncontrolled creature
can summon many of its fellows, who can
in turn send a summons, and so on until
armies of the creatures are formed to
sweep all before them. Given the propensi-
ties of adventurers who meddle with
sorcerous prisons and of wizard appren-
tices whose ambition exceeds their skill,
this scenario is only a matter of time.
And then what? A comparable force
from the Upper Planes may serve to re-
store the balance, but only at the cost of
massive devastation every 100 years or so,
as someone slips up and the mistake is not
found or corrected in time. Hardly a solu-
tion. On a less abstract level, any fiend
who gets lucky with its summons is quite
likely to be the death knell for any party,
due to the pyramiding process noted
above. Given the large number of such
creatures roaming the WORLD OF
GREYHAWK setting in the wake of the
recent wars (and especially in the lands of
Iuz), this creates some serious problems.
In order to restore historical and gaming
balance, therefore, I have come up with a
solution: the two-step rule.
Briefly put, this rule stipulates that no
fiend can open a gate more than two call-
ings removed from the original summons.
This means that a fiend may either elect to
gate in allies and allow them to make one
successful summons each in their turn, or
to use its own powers twice. If it wishes to
use its powers again after this limit is
reached, it must either dismiss the rem-
nants of a gated group in favor of fresh
allies or have every single member of a
group slain or dismissed. Fiends with
ambitions on this plane, therefore, will
tend to operate under cover and with
many native allies if at all possible.
This restriction is primarily aimed at the
tanarri and gehreleth, whose powers are
the most unbalanced. Baatezu cannot gate
at all on the Prime Material, as the MC8
Introduction notes that such summons are
explicitly restricted to mortals. (Though it
is reported that some powerful mortals
can structure their summons to allow this
within certain well-defined limits, and
travelers on other planes are advised to be
most cautious.) Gated yuggoloths, mean-
while, pose too grave a risk to the sum-
moner to make such a pyramiding
strategy possible. I also have taken certain
other logical steps, such as taking note of
these creatures great pride and arrogance
when role-playing their tactics and remov-
ing the ability of the babau to gate in true
tanarri allies, since they are not recruiting
for the Blood War while on the Prime
Material Plane.
These rules have gone a long way toward
restoring game balance, and have proven
quite effective without making these crea-
tures easy prey or preventing them from
stocking their lairs with infernal servants.
Note, however, that free-standing gates are a
separate phenomenon, though they do count
as a first summons, and that all of these
restrictions are removed on the creatures
native planes. This makes facing them there
much more fearsome!
Joe Katzman
Toronto, Ontario
Has anyone else out there encountered
abuse of the Minus 10 rule? I am the DM
for a group in two campaigns (Oriental
Adventures and the AL-QADIM setting)
that has been miraculously keeping track
of the life expectancy of fallen comrades,
coming to their aid at the last possible
moment (after having attended to more
pressing matters such as the first pick of
the treasure pile).
In one instance, a PC refused to help
another PC until he reached - 9 hit points
simply out of spite, knowing of course that
the injured party member wouldnt die for
another minute! In the face of abuse like
this, I was tempted to remove the rule
from play altogether, but there are, I feel,
good reasons to keep it. First, in real melee
combat, not a lot of wounds from swords,
axes, etc., prove instantly fatal. Usually,
you could expect to simply bleed to
deathwhich realistically could take up to
10 minutes. Second, the campaigns I run
tend to fall to the low-fantasy side of the
genre and so we have a higher PC mortali-
ty rate than most AD&D games out there,
and the minus 10 rule tends to help out
while the parties are still at low-level and
without access to too much magical heal-
ing. I realized that the abuses were spring-
ing from the fact that the other PCs knew
precisely how long they could wait before
coming to the aid of the fallen, so this is
how I changed the rule: As soon as a PC
reaches 0 hit points or below, I make a
secret dl0 roll to determine how many
more rounds they have. This means that
someone on -9 could still live another 10
rounds, but it equally means that someone
at 0 hp could die in the next round. The
point is, theres uncertainty.
I introduced the new rule in a game a
few weeks ago (in A Mighty Fortress
game) and you should have seen the differ-
ence in the PCs behavior! Suddenly when
someone looked as though they had been
badly hurt, they found it of utmost ur-
gency to try to reach their injured com-
panion and stabilize his condition, forcing
another PC to withdraw from the fight to
administer the first aid. Im happy to say
that the fallen party member (who had
been shot with a musket) pulled through,
but Im happier to say that it wasnt only
that player who had his heart in his
throat!
As a final note, in order to simulate the
effects of having been on deaths door,
characters in my game dont recover con-
sciousness for some 3d4 hours, during
which time they are in a stable but criti-
cal condition and cannot be moved. When
they do come around, they suffer penal-
ties to Strength and Constitution equal to
the number of hit points below zero they
reached. ( - 2 hit points means - 2 to
Strength and Constitution). A successful
system shock check means that the char-
acter will regain these scores at the rate of
one point per day. If the check is failed,
well, theyre stuck with the new numbers.
This impresses upon them the desire to
not get killed!
Ruediger Landmann
St. Lucia, Australia
As a long-time player (11 years) who has
read DRAGON Magazine off and on for the
same period of time, I would like to dis-
cuss the lunacy of demihuman level limita-
tions. I have no idea if this has been
discussed in any great detail in the maga-
zine, as I have only recently become a
subscriber.
It has long been the policy of the old
masters of the game to limit the level
attainment of demihumans. My older
brother and his friends who introduced
me to the game many years ago held to
this rule. As my fellow gamers and I
gained experience and age in the AD&D
game, we began to question the wisdom of
such restrictions, and asked ourselves the
question, why does this policy exist?
The old guardians of the game had
ready answers, and it is these answers
that I wish to dispute. There are two argu-
ments against allowing unlimited level
progression. One is just plain silly, and the
other will consume most of this letter.
The first argument is this: Demihumans
should not be allowed unlimited level
advancement because of their special
abilities. I know of no one who seriously
thinks infravision and an occasional ability
bonus means anything to a character
beyond 1st level, and even then the advan-
tages are slight.
The second argument is as follows:
Demihumans should not be allowed unlim-
ited level progression because of their
much longer life spans, which will allow
them to attain super-high levels and dis-
rupt the game.
This argument seems sound, but let us
examine it more closely. What are the
assumptions connected with it? First, that
for some reason the nonhuman character
will never face overwhelming odds and
the nonhuman character will never retire,
never be asked to run a kingdom/guild/
church/etc. . . . His deity will never bring
up this powerful ally to the Outer Planes
to aid the celestial battle between good
and evil (or however you wish to divide
sides). We also assume that the DM is
willing to continue leisurely adventures
easily passable by the player, and does not
take the character as an NPC once he
reaches a certain level. Remember, we are
talking about unreasonable levels.
One argument I have used when debat-
ing my brother over this issue is, What
about Elminster? as well as the many
other ancient human wizards who are
around the various gaming worlds. Why
arent there cries against their power and
age? I can find no reasonable answer to
the question, accept perhaps it is from the
tradition of fairy tales to have an ancient
human wizard, or that they are NPCs, and
controlled by the DM.
Another example I found useful in argu-
ment was that of a 15th-level elven fighter.
This argument makes for a few assump-
tions (reasonable ones I think), so bear
with me. With his human companions
retiring, let us presume this elf still has
DRAGON 69
over a hundred years to adventure, so off
he goes. The elf needs 250,000 experience
points to move up to 16th level. So where
will he get this? He may try to combat
humanoids, slaughter them by the thou-
sands. This of course has its flaws, as I
think anyone will agree. Numbers do
make a difference, and Jason Dunns letter
to Forum in issue #152 and Tuckers
Kobolds from issue #127 showed how
deadly humanoids can be.
So how does our humble elf get his XP?
Some would say dragon in an instant,
but a dragon is no easy kill in the AD&D
2nd Edition rules. Even killing a Great
Wyrm red dragon is worth only 20,000 XP,
and while this number would soar if its
lair is discovered, there is no guarantee of
doing so. My own experience with a drag-
on of such magnitude would advance our
elf by only half, and only if he had slain
the creature by himself or if his compan-
ions had been slain. No one can seriously
think that this particular elf could kill such
a beast on his own (and if he did, several
dragons might pay him a visit . . .), so, the
dragon and its treasure and experience is
divided among the party he is with (assum-
ing success, of course), leaving our poor
elf far distant from his goal.
What about giants? An easier kill, per-
haps. But the most powerful storm giant
yields only 16,000 XP, and certainly any-
one with the name giant killer does not
70 JANUARY 1995
tend to live long (either pressing his luck ridiculous, since such an occurrence
or having some assassin go in for the would never happen.
giants money . . .). Even the mighty lich is I dont pretend to have all the answers,
only 7,000 XP, and our poor elf would be and there may be some argument or logic
hard pressed to kill even one of these I havent thought of. I can say that my
powerful undead. Life is not so easy at the gaming group has never had any problems
top, and so our elf must leave the more not having level restrictions, and it is my
mundane creatures of the gaming world opinion that no one, human or otherwise,
if he plans to reach these lofty XP heights. could attain a ridiculous level without DM
Quests are what he will seek. Perhaps our aid or being an NPC to begin with.
brave elf and his new party will manage to If this reaches print, I would appreciate
kill the mighty Tarrasque, but to his mis- the opinions and experience of my fellow
fortune even as the lone survivor, he re- gamers. I also would appreciate the print-
ceives only 107,000 XP for his trouble, less ing of my address, in case anyone should
than half his needed experience. care to write to me directly.
But let us imagine that this brave elf Peter David Levi
proceeds to gather some artifact (the only 911 Auden Park Drive
object that can really advance a character Kingston, Ontario
rapidly), not be destroyed by it (or con- K7M 4T8 Canada
trolled, maimed, disrupted, or disposed of
in some other horrible way) and moves up
a level or two. He now becomes some evil
deitys most powerful and prominent
enemy. I think it would be foolish to say
that our elf would survive long with the
powers of deities at his throat.
Of course, our elf could retire to be the
defender of his community, but this offers
very little in the way of experience.
Similarly, our elf over the years could,
with luck and the greatest Monty Haul DM
ever, reach say, 40th level. After all, he
would only need 6,520,000 XP (the equiva-
lent of 59 Tarrasques). But this is obviously
 oomer Tomp poured water into his
mouth and down his snapping jaws.
The tin cup he carried for just this
purpose banged against his teeth and
knocked some of them loose. He
didnt notice. The ecstasy of filling up
Harvesting
the
with tilted neck, knee deep in cool
liquid, made him forget. The sand colored the large pool a
murky brown, and his bones gasped as the water soaked
them, the marrow absorbing its moisture and the promise
of renewed life. Thousands around him filled the oasis and
poured water down their empty throats, lost themselves in
the vision of flesh sprouting from bleached bone.
Loomer didnt know how long it lasted. He never did.
He knew it was over when a ball of hot wind and sand
Boneflowers
smacked into his head and chipped off a piece of hard
bone from his skull. He held on to his vision a moment
longer. The whip hit him again and he returned to the
water and the crowd surrounding him. He heard the
whips from the priests on the shore lashing through the air
and he ducked. The blow missed him but smacked into
the shoulder of another in front of him. He saw the joint
shatter. The arm fell off into the water. Those around him
scattered and fled for the shore. Loomer kept low, his
open jaw dipped in the water, tasting it even as he scram- by Joe Lunievicz
bled with the others toward the beach. When he was out
of the pool and standing on the rise that surrounded the
oasis, he took a moment to count his fingers and toes.
Thats how you go first, he thought to himself. First you lose
your digits, and then youre Left for the sand to cover. Someone else
takes your place in the column. He had most of eight fingers
including both thumbs, and all his toes. He turned his
head upward to the sun and gave thanks. The light en-
tered his eye sockets and filled his soul with a new
warmth. Im going to be one of them, he said firmly to
himself. The flesh will come back. There will be a har-
vest. It was what he always said after he drank from the
waters and counted his digits.
In the long valley behind him, the fallen from the battle
were being awakened by the priests. The dark figures
passed quickly whispering their prayers, touching the flesh
of the bodies lying in the sand. Men and women, reborn
in the priests wake, took their first faltering steps and
joined the back of the column. The remains of those who
had lost their places or couldnt be reborn were left to be
covered by the sand and eaten by the scavengers. Frag-
ments of their crushed and splintered bones littered the
valley like new-fallen snow.
Loomer pulled at his shoulder belt. He adjusted his
shield and scabbard, checked the hilt of his sword, and
joined the forming ranks on the shallow dunes below him.
He pulled himself into step next to two that he recognized.
They both wore mail shirts with ragged holes that showed
their exposed ribs. Spiked helmets covered their heads.
Thick oak spears were clenched in their hands. Loomer
counted their fingers quickly and saw that they had passed
through undamaged.
Roth, Shannon, he called to them. His jaw moved
slightly with each word, and they heard him even though
all three had long since lost the flesh from their faces.
Illustrations by Tom Dow
They turned their heads toward him and nodded together.

DRAGON 73
 We were wondering if you had made it through,
Shannon said, slapping the bones of her hand against his
back in greeting.
Yes, Roth agreed, tapping his shoulder at the same
time. We lost you at the first clash in the valley. They sepa-
rated us into two groups and we were swept to the right. You
must have been with the left part of the column. They lost so
many. We thought you were one of them.
I was, Loomer said, laughing. I was. But Ive told you
a hundred times, Ill be with you at the final battle. Ive
been charmed. I always have been and I always will be.
Wagner thought we was charmed, too, Shannon said.
But now hes face down in the sand. He always swore his
flesh would grow and his bones would flower.
Wagner was reckless, Loomer shouted as the wind
picked up around them and the sun began to set. He
thought he was immortal. Thats the first mistake the new
ones make. He was reborn with us and should have
known better. I know Im not immortal. I know the path
is short. Im just charmed. Theres a difference.
And whats that? Roth asked, leaning forward into
the gusts of sand that sprinkled past them.
Im still walking with you, and hes not, Loomer
shouted.
They all laughed, their jaws creaking in imitation of the
living. Their column spread before them, one hundred
thick and endless to the horizon, like darkened soldier ants
marching toward a new hive, following the outline of a
storm. Around the edges of the column moved the priests,
their whips snapping at the heads of the weakest, turning
them into bone dust. Crawling bodies followed the column
with hands outstretched, shrill take me alongs mixing with
the sound of the wind whistling through their frames.
Loomer glanced behind him at the columns debris.
What do you think happens to them? he asked.
They lose their place, Shannon said, keeping her eyes
fixed on the earth in front of her.
The sands cover them, Roth added quickly, complet-
ing the ritual.
Loomer nodded his head slowly and repeated the words
to himself. He found himself glancing back again even as
the night closed around them.
The column moved across the desert, the storm blanket-
ing the passages of the sun and the moon. The days
passed as seconds or years, Loomer Tomp couldnt tell the
difference and didnt want to. The storm disappeared.
The southern sky glowed with the lights of a far-off city.
Loomer Tomp wondered at the luminous horizon and the
stars that blended into the sky above it.
Do you think this could be the final battle? he asked.
No, its not, Shannon said.
How do you know? Loomer asked.
Because well know when its the final battle. The
priests will tell us.
They gave us birth, Loomer said.
And the air that we breathe. Shannon completed the
saying.
Loomer Tomp had long ago forgotten what breathing
was and what it was like to smell, but he nodded his head
in agreement with the words anyway. It was part of the
ritual.
74 JANUARY 1995
That night one of the newly born joined them. He
stepped up beside them, some flesh still covering him,
sheltering his skeletal frame.
What will happen? he asked.
Well join battle, Roth said, not looking at the man.
Well cross the sands, Shannon added.
Why? the man asked.
Because we always have, Roth said. We move for-
ward, following the storms.
But the storms are gone, the man said.
Well find them on the other side of the city. Its the
sign the priests look for, Roth said. Its the passage of
eternal life. When we reach the final battle, our bones will
flower and the harvest . . .
. . . and the harvest, Loomer broke his silence, will
be the quenching of our thirst. Our limbs will swell and
our lungs will fill with air again. Until then, well find
water inside the city and well have our dreams.
What dreams? he asked.
Of the boneflowers, Loomer said sharply, loosing
patience.
How long have you been waiting? the man asked.
I dont remember, Loomer said.
A long time, Roth added quickly.
We were reborn together, Shannon said.
No, Loomer said. Not just the three of us. There
were twenty.
What happened to the others? the man asked.
I dont know, Loomer said, and gazed at the glowing
horizon.
They lost their place, Shannon said.
And the sands covered them, Roth added.
They marched through the darkness until they stood on
the dunes surrounding the city walls. They watched torch-
es flicker and bob along the parapets as messengers darted
between shivering archers and crossbowmen. From the
dunes, the torches seemed like a line of shimmering
fireflies. The city behind the walls whispered with closing,
bolting doors and wooden shutters. A babys wailing cries
carried over the walls and across the sands to Loomer
Tomp.
Watch above for the rocks when you get to the wall,
Shannon said.
Keep your shield on your back and your body close to
the wall, Roth added.
Right, Loomer said, and flipped his curved sword to
his right hand. Its silver edge glistened in the moonlight
where rust hadnt turned it brown.
A priest stepped in front of them, its body seeming to
appear from the sand itself. It was wreathed in gray and
black cloth, tightly wrapped from its head to its feet.
Loomer watched as a gloved hand adjusted a wrap of
shoulder cloth. Sand spilled out like crystallized blood
until tightening made it stop. The priest raised its hands
above its head and they all stepped forward. Loomer un-
hooked his shield from his back and strapped it to his right
forearm. The priest turned toward them and gazed with
eyes that sparkled like emeralds. They stepped forward
again, smacking their spear hafts and swords against their
shields. The crackling of arms rang in the darkness like
the shattering of thunder as they stepped forward again
and started down the hill. More torches lit on the city
walls. The priest stepped with them, and the clamor of
weapons quickened as they increased their pace. At five
hundred yards they began to run. Loomer screamed and
the others behind raised their voices with his. The soldiers
on the walls in silvered mail and hardened leather heard
nothing but the striking of steel and a low humming as if
flies were pricking at their ears.
At two hundred yards the first flight of bolts rained
down on them, the arrows bouncing off their shields and
nicking their bones. The air filled with their whistling
hafts and the stars were dimmed by their black feathered
clouds. Roths helmet took two blows and a third passed
through his mail coat, chipping a rib. A fourth arrow
passed through his eye socket and cracked the back of his
skull. His step faltered and Loomer ran past him, not
looking back.
Come on, Roth, he yelled.
Shannon stepped next to him, leaping over a fallen pile
of bones, its skull shattered from a crossbow bolt.
Tightly stretched bows added their arrows to the clouds
of stinging rain. Loomer reached the wall, slung his shield
over his back and hooked his sword into his harness.
Reaching up, he stuck his fingers and toes into the crum-
bling masonry. He started climbing upward, his bones
finding holds that flesh could never find. Earthen bricks
and flaming oil spilled down upon them. Loomer clung
close to the surface of the wall and climbed as fast as he
could. Arrows ricocheted off his shield again and again,
the harness holding it close against his back.
A few feet from the top, Loomer glanced up and swung
his body to the side as a spear plunged down into the
space he had been in before. The second time the spear
jabbed, he grabbed it and pulled hard, tearing the owner
forward over the wall and into the darkness below. He
scrambled over the top and ducked as swords sliced the air
above him and to his side. Others joined him at the top of
the wall. He pulled out his sword and grasped his shield,
hacking in a circle around him. Within minutes the wall
was overrun and the parapets were slippery with blood.
Men, screaming, dropped their weapons and ran into the
streets of the city.
Loomer saw Shannon and waved his sword in the air,
following others into the streets in pursuit of the fleeing
men. Bolted doors were splintered with sword and ax cuts
as more souls were gathered for the following priests to
rebirth. Word passed from gaping jaw to gaping jaw that
water was near. Loomer could almost smell it. His thirst
grew and his step quickened, the long passage across the
sands already forgotten. He passed street after street,
catching shadows of armored skeletons, hearing the rat-
tling of dried bones and the screaming of the living.
Loomer followed a pack in front of him and ran down two
more streets until he heard a baby cry. He stopped run-
ning and crouched. Muffled voices came from a doorway
to his left, the adobe walls cracked near the shuttered win-
dows. He pressed his head against the door and heard the
cry again. Stepping back, he slammed his body against
the door and pushed it inward, snapping the lock. He
rushed in, his body low, shield to one side, sword held
high.
There were four people huddled against the back wall,
their eye whites glowing like small moons suspended in
the darkness. The baby cried again, and one of the figures
glanced downward at a bundle in its arms. Loomer
stepped forward and they shrank back against the wall,
gasping. The baby cried again.
Please, a womans voice called out to him. A pale
white hand reached up from the shadow of her robes.
Please, her voice quivered, leave us alone. There is a
child.
Loomer stood slowly and lowered his sword and shield.
His shoulders seemed heavy. He worked his jaws to speak
but no sound came out.
Please, the woman said again.
He didnt feel the spear pass through his rib cage from
behind. He saw it come out in front of him as it snapped
off the tip of a rib and jerked his body forward. The spear
withdrew quickly and Loomer spun around, raising his
shield in time to block the second blow. He could hear the
warriors heavy breathing. In a second he spotted the
outline of the figure thrusting the spear. Loomer rushed
the figure crouched in the darkness behind the door, cut-
ting with his sword from left to right. He felt the blade
meet flesh just before his shield did. He held the figure
against the wall, then released it when it stopped strug-
gling. The body fell, the spear dropping to the floor along-
side it. Loomer stepped back and looked down at the
figure on the floor. Blood was already pooling at his feet.
The figure was small, about the size of a young boy.
Loomer didnt look any closer. When he turned around,
the room was empty, the women and baby gone. The door
to the back courtyard swung loosely on its hinges.
Shannon appeared at the doorway and yelled to him,
Theres water in the center. Come quick and well be
there with the first.
Loomer stepped over the boy and followed, his feet
leaving red prints like the sharp-lined tracks of a pre-
historic bird.
In the citys central park, Loomer and Shannon soaked
their jaws and spines and ribs with well water and
dreamed of the return of their flesh. Loomer didnt bother
to count his digits this time.
That night they left the city behind, flames burning the
sky red with orange and yellow lingers. The newly reborn
stumbled behind the column. The priests followed them,
their whips releasing the flesh of the living and baring the
bones of the undead.
There were twenty of us originally, Loomer said.
I dont want to talk about it, Shannon replied. The
wind had picked up again, and the top layer of sand
whipped in tall bilious sheets across the desert floor. The
storm had returned.
There were twenty, and now that Roth is gone there
are only two left.
I said I dont want to talk about that, she yelled
against the wind.
I watched you take a spear through your chest when
the column came for us, Loomer yelled back.
I dont remember, Shannon said.
I saw you die. I remember, because we held you be-
fore we were slain. You were in our arms and Roth was
DRAGON 75
 crying. He sounded like a child. He loved you. When he
died, I was the last one left. I held you both.
They gave us birth, she interrupted.
I remember the rebirth. I remember waking up and
seeing you both with me. The others were alive again, and
we walked into the desert together.
. . . and the air that we breathe, she continued.
I dont remember any of them since that moment.
. . . and the bones will flower with the spirit of the
flesh.
Roth is gone. I didnt look back when I saw him fall. I
didnt stop.
. . . and the bones will flower with the spirit of the
flesh, she repeated.
Soon youll be gone, and I wont remember you. I
wont stop for you either.
. . . and the bones will flower . . .
I dont want to be the only one left again, quoting
ritual to the newly reborn and pointing toward the glow-
ing horizon as if it were the pathway to eternal life.
Shut up, Loomer Tomp! she screamed. But Loomer
wasnt standing next to her anymore. He had dropped to
his knees and fallen face down in the sand. Shannon
glanced to her side once, then faced forward into the wind
and moved on with the rest.
The column passed over him, leaving him behind as
part of the debris. When he was sure they were gone, he
pulled himself out of the sand and sat up. He could see
their shadows in the light of the fading moon. The storm
drew a veil around them and made them disappear.
Loomer drew his knees up to his ribs and let the sand
cover him.

76 JANUARY 1995

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GAMES UNIVERSITY, Jan. 13-16 CA
This demo-oriented game convention will be
held at the Red Lion Hotel in Ontario, Calif.
Guests include Darwin Bromley. Events include
family and adventure role-playing, board, and
miniatures games. Other activities include
computer and video games, seminars, and
dealers. Registration: $25/weekend. Write to:
GAMES UNIV., c/o Ultraviolet Prod., PO. Box
668, Upland CA 91785.
RUNEQUEST*CON 2, Jan. 13-16 CA
This convention will be held at the San Fran-
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Guests include Greg Stafford, Sandy Petersen,
and Steve Perrin. Events include role-playing,
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*CON 2, 252O Hillegass Ave. #101, Berkeley CA
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Registration: $17 preregistered; $22 on site.
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ROUNDCON 95, Jan. 27-29 SC
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WARPCON V, Jan. 27-29
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V, Office of Residence and Student Activities,
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ARHN6001@Iruccvax.ucc.ie.
GAMEFEST II, Jan. 28 IL
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LEXICON XI, Feb. 3-5 KY
This convention will be held at the University
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WARCON* 95, Feb l 3-5 TX
This convention will be held at Memorial Stu-
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CAPRICON XV, Feb. 16-19
This convention will be held at Wyndham Hamil-
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Registration: $40 on site. Write to: CAPRICON XV
P.O. Box 60085, Chicago IL 60660.
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Beach, Va. Activities include panels, workshops,
an amateur film fest, an art show, dance, and
anime. Registration: $30. Write to: Katsu Prod.,
PO. Box 11582, Blacksburg VA 24062-1582; or
e-mail: katsucon@vtserf.cc.vt.edu.
ORCCON 18, Feb. 18-20 CA
This convention will be held at Airport Hyatt
Hotel in Los Angeles, Calif. Events include all
types of family, strategy, and adventure board,
role-playing, miniatures, and computer gaming.
Other activities include flea markets, an auction,
dealers, seminars, and demos. Registration: $25
preregistered; $30 on site. Write to: STRATEGI-
CON, PO. Box 3849, Torrance CA 90510-3849.
TOTAL CONFUSION, IX, Feb. 23-26 MA
This convention will be held at the Best West-
ern Royal Plaza Hotel & Convention Center in
Marlboro, Mass. Events include role-playing,
board, and miniatures games. Other activities
include a dinner-theater production. Registra-
tion: $30/weekend or $l0/day preregistered;
$12/day on site. Write to: TOTAL CONFUSION,
PO. Box 1463, Worcester MA 01607.
JAXCON 95, Feb. 24-26 FL
This convention will be held at the Ramada
Inn Conference Center in Jacksonville, Fla.
Events include role-playing, board, and minia-
tures games. Other activities include door
prizes, dealers, and a flea market. Registration:
$22 on site. Single-day rates are available. Write
to: JAXCON, PO. Box 14218, Dept. M, Jackson-
ville FL 32238-4218.
RADCON 1C, Feb. 24-26 WA
This convention will be held at the Best West-
ern Tower Inn in Richland, Wa. Events include
role-playing, board, and miniatures games.
Other activities include workshops, dealers, an
art show, movies, demos, and gaming. Registra-
tion: $18. Write to: RADCON 1C, 2527 W. Kenne-
wick Ave., #162, Kennewick WA 99336.
POINTCON II, Feb. 25-26 WI
This convention will be held at the University
Center on the UW-Stevens Point campus in
Stevens Point, Wis. Events include role-playing,
board, and miniatures games. Other activities
include tournaments, door prizes, and dealers.
Registration: $2/event; $3/4 per tournament.
Send an SASE to: GASP Box 41, Univ. Activities
Office, Univ. Center UWSP, Stevens Point WI
54481.
82 JANUARY 1995
IL CONCENTRIC 95, March 3-5
This convention will be held at Ramada Hotel
OHare in Chicago, Ill. Guests include Lynn
Abbey and Larry Elmore. Events include role-
playing, board, computer, and miniatures
games. Other activities include an art show,
seminars, films, anime, the blood drive, and a
masquerade ball. Registration: $13 before Feb.
15; $17 on site. Write to: Concentric Circle Inc.,
114 Euclid, Box 287, Park Ridge IL 60068.
EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN 95
March 3-5 IL
This convention will be held at Southern
Illinois Universitys Student Center in Carbon-
dale, Ill. Guests include David Gross. Events
include role-playing, board, and miniatures
games. Other activities include a game auction,
plus miniatures-painting and art contests. Regis-
tration: $10 preregistered: $12 on site. Single-
day and visitor passes are available. Write to:
EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN, c/o SIUC Strategic
Games Society, Office of Student Development,
3rd Floor Student Center, Carbondale IL 62901-
4425.
TENN CON 95, March 4-5 TN
This convention will be held at the Knoxville
Convention Center in Knoxville, Tenn. Events
include role-playing, board, and miniatures
games. Other activities include card-game
events. Registration: $25 (plus tax) on site. Write
to: TENN CON 95, c/o Gameboard, 3018 B Mall
Rd. N., Suite #161, Knoxville, TN 37924.
WARPDCON V, Mar. 4 NJ
This convention was scheduled to take
place Dec. 3, 1994. It will be held at Drew
University in Madison, N.J. Events include role-
playing, board, and miniatures games. Other
activities include a miniatures-painting contest, a
raffle, an auction, and door prizes. Registration:
$5. Write to: Richard Ditullio, PO. Box 802, C.M.
Box 1405, Madison NJ 07940.
CON OF THE NORTH 95, March 10-12 MN
This convention will be held at the Landmark
Center in St. Paul, Minn. Events include role-
playing, board, computer, and miniatures
games. Registration fees vary. Write to: CON OF
THE NORTH, PO. Box 18096, Minneapolis, MN
55418.
COSCON 95, March 10-12 PA
This convention will be held at the Days Inn
Conference Center in Butler, Pa. Guests include
Jean Rabe. Events include role-playing, board,
and miniatures games. Other activities include
RPGA Network events, dealers, and demos.
Registration: $15 before Feb. 25; $20 thereafter.
Send an SASE to: Circle of Swords, PO. Box
2126, Butler PA 16003.
SIMCON XVII, March 23-26 NY
This convention will be held at Wilson Com-
mons on the University of Rochester campus in
Rochester, N.Y Events include role-playing,
board, and miniatures games. Other activities
include tournaments, dealers, and open gaming.
Registration: $8 before March 15; $10 there-
after. Tournaments fees are $3; most other
event fees are $2. Write to: SIMCON XVII, c/o
URSGA, CPU 277146-River Station, Rochester
NY 14627-7146.
IL CONNCON 95, March 24-26 CT
This convention will be held at the Danbury
Hilton & Towers in Danbury, Conn. Guests
include Jean Rabe and Sam Lewis. Events in-
clude role-playing, board, and miniatures
games. Other activities include RPGA Network
events, miniature-painting, costume, and art
contests, and an awards banquet. Write to:
CONNCON, PO. Box 444, Sherman CT 06784-
0444.
MIDSOUTHCON 14, March 24-26 TN
This SF convention will be held at the Best
Western Airport Hotel in Memphis, Tenn. Guests
include Timothy Zahn and Alan Gutierrez.
Events include role-playing, board, and minia-
tures games. Registration: $25 before March 1;
$30 thereafter. Write to: MIDSOUTHCON, PO.
Box 22749, Memphis TN 38122.
SCOTCON 95, March 24-26 OH
This convention will be held at Lowry Center
on the College of Wooster campus in Wooster,
Ohio. Events include role-playing, board, and
miniatures games. Other activities include card
games. Registration fees vary. Write to: Avery
Leckrone, Box C-1706 COW, Wooster OH 44691.
COASTCON XVIII, March31-April2 MS
This convention will be held at the Miss. Gulf
Coast Coliseum/Convention Center in Biloxi,
Miss. Guests include Mike Stackpole, Steve
Perry, Jennifer Roberson, and George Alec
Effinger. Events include role-playing, board, and
miniatures games. Other activities include an art
show and auction, a charity auction, dealers,
videos, and writing and costume contests.
Registration: $25 before March 1; $30 there-
after. Write to: COASTCON XVII, PO. Box 1423,
Biloxi MS 39533-1423.
I-CON 14, March 31-April 2 NY
This not-for-profit convention will be held at
the SUNY campus in Stony Brook, N.Y. Events
include role-playing, board, and miniatures
games. Other activities include SF&F, comics,
and anime. Write to: I-CON, PO. Box 550, Stony
Brook NY 11790-0550.
TECHNICON 12, March 31-April 1 VA
This convention will be held at the Donaldson
Brown Center for Continuing Education in
Blacksburg, Va. Events include role-playing,
board, and miniatures games. Other activities
include panels, an art show and auction, filking,
videos and anime, computer games, and dealers.
Write to: TECHNICON 12, c/o VTSFFC, PO. Box
256, Blacksburg VA 24063-0356; or e-mail via the
Internet: Technicon@VTCC1.cc.vt.edu.
 by Skip Williams

If you have any questions on the games detection and location also protects the Creatures can use weapons one
produced by TSR, Inc., Sage Advice will wearers clothing and equipment, and it size larger than themselves if the
answer them. In the United States and defeats spells such as locate object if tar- use two hands (PHB, page 73). If a
Canada, write to: Sage Advice, DRAGON geted on items the wearer has on his gnome were using a bastard sword
Magazine, PO. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI person. The amulet only functions when in two hands, what would its dam-
53147, U.S.A. In Europe, write to: Sage worn by a creature, however, and it can age and speed factor be?
Advice, DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120 be magically detected or identified if it is That depends on how the gnome decides
Church End, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge unattended or if it is carried, but not to use the sword and what the DM will
CB1 3LB, United Kingdom. We are no worn. allow the gnome to get away with. A bas-
longer able to make personal replies; tard sword is a size M weapon no matter
please send no SASEs with your questions Can a detect magic spell detect a how it is used, so a gnome always has to
(SASEs are being returned with writers magical aura on an invisible crea- use two hands. Theres nothing in the
guidelines for the magazine). ture? If so, would this reveal exactly rules that says a gnome, with his two-
This month, the sage looks at more where the invisible creature was? handed grip, cant use a bastard sword in
magical enigmas in the AD&D game and Yes, detect magic can detect an invisible one-handed mode (speed 6, damage ld8/
continues his examination of the creatures magical aura. No, this does not ld12) or in two-handed mode (speed 8,
SPELLFIRE game. pinpoint the invisible creatures exact damage 2d4/2d8) just by shifting his grip.
location. See page 120 of the DMG for Most DMs I know would treat a bastard
Just how complete is the protec- details. sword in two-handed mode as a large
tion provided by an amulet of proof
against detection and location? Does
it protect the wearer and his cloth-
ing and gear from detect magic
spells? Is the wearer and his gear
protected from spells such as detect
invisibility and true seeing? Sup-
pose the wearer stole an item from a
spell-caster, would the item be
shielded from locate object spells?
Does the amulet protect the wearer
from psionic detection? Is the amu-
let itself resistant to spells such as
detect magic and identify?
The letter of the rules will support you if
you decide that an amulet of proof against
detection and location defeats all divination
spells (that is, spells of the Divination
school) and psionic powers that mimic
those spells. However, I suggest a few ex-
ceptions in keeping with the spirit of the
rules: First, the item description says that
some information about the amulets wear-
er is revealed if a powerful being is con-
sulted. In game terms, Id suggest that the
priest spell commune provides access to
suitably powerful beings; so does the wiz-
ard spell contact other plane, but only if
the being contacted resides on an outer
plane and has an intelligence of at least 22
(see spell description, PHB, page 167). I also
suggest that you allow true seeing to reveal
the wearer if he is invisible and to reveal
the wearers true form if it is altered or
disguised in any way. Note that the amulet
suppresses the wearers aura, and a priests
true seeing spell cannot reveal the wearers
alignment.
In any case, an amulet of proof against
DRAGON 85
weapon, however, owing to the fact that
the wielder is putting more of the weap-
ons overall length to use. This would
prevent gnomes and other small creatures
from using the sword in two-handed
mode.
Can shadow magic affect objects?
For example, how much effect
would a shadow fireball have on a
ships sails?
Shadow magic has a real component,
and it can harm objects. If the object in
question has hit points, a shadow magic
spell inflicts 20% of its normal damage (see
spell description, PHB, page 171). If the
target item has no hit points, make a nor-
mal roll for the item on the item saving
throw table, using whatever attack form
the shadow magic was mimickingthe
spells real component, however weak, is
potent enough to cause regular saving
throws.
When a magical weapon loses its
enchantment due to planar travel (a
sword +2 from the Prime Material
plane is taken to Limbo, for exam-
ple) does it lose its ability to harm
creatures struck only by magical
weapons?
Yes, as an items power fades, so does its
ability to overcome special defenses.
86 JANUARY 1995
Would a character wearing a cloak
of displacement lose the cloaks
benefits if she became invisible?
Yes, displacement fools viewers by mak-
ing the displaced creature appear to be
somewhere it is not. The effect is lost
when the displaced creature becomes
invisible.
The various descriptions of go-
lems say that golems are immune to
all spells except the ones specifi-
cally listed in the creatures descrip-
tion. Does this mean that a golem
can ignore spells such as prismatic
sphere? What about spells with
mostly physical effects such as the
Bigby's hand spells and Mor-
denkainen'ssword?
Golems are impervious to most spells,
but they are not anti-magical. Spells that
do not change or damage the recipient
generally work in a golems presence just
fine. Taking the items from your example:
a golem can walk through most layers of a
prismatic sphere and suffer no damage or
special effects, but the violet (force field)
layer stops the golem. The Bigbys hand
spells cannot damage golems, but they can
slow them or move them around if the
golem falls within the spells weight limits.
Mordenkainens sword is ineffective
against golems. Note that other spells
might have strange effects when golems
are involved. For example, a transmute
rock to mud spell cast under a golems feet
probably will cause the golem to sink into
the mud, The golem, however, will not
drown. Instead it sinks to the bottom and
keeps right on moving, eventually climbing
out. If the spell is dispelled or reversed,
the golem eventually will smash its way
out of the resulting rock.
Can a wizard memorize an extra
spell of lower level in lieu of a
higher-level one?
No. At least not without aid from a spell
such as Rarys mnemonic enhancer or
Mordenkainens lucubration.
What, exactly, is required for a
wizard to copy a spell from one
spell book to another?
All that is required is a suitable spell
book with space to receive the spell to be
copied (see DMG, page 42), adequate light,
suitable ink and quills (the DM is free to
determine what is suitable, but the re-
quirements for writing in spell books are
much less rigorous than for writing
scrolls, see DMG, page 85), and a reason-
able amount of uninterrupted study time,
say one hour per spell level.
SPELLFIRE game questions
The dragon Gib Htimsen (#13 of
25) is immune to spells, events,
items, and artifacts. Is Htimsen im-
mune to events such as Solid Fog
(#382) that prevent attacks until the
players next turn? If so, does the
immunity also apply in multi-player
games?
Yes to both.
We have a local player who likes
to use the Assassins (#252) ally
when he has no hope of winning, so
he can destroy a champion of his
choice. Is this allowed?
Sure it is. Its a cheap shot, but thats
what the card is for.
If two Surprise Raid cards (#lOl)
are played together are they cumu-
lative?
Yes. (This is a great time to play Assassins.)
Does Mogadishos Horde (#251)
force the opponent to discard all
holdings from her hand as well as
those attached to realms?
No, it doesnt. When the SPELLFIRE
game designers got together they tried
very hard not to set up conditions that
would cause the players to play things out
of their hands. Its too easy for a player to
cheat and say they she doesnt have a
thing in her hand when she actually does.
While SPELLFIRE players are unusually
honest, the designers didnt want to tempt
them in any way.
 1994 by Rick Swan
Photography by Charles Kohl

Role-playing games' ratings

Not recommended

Poor, but may be useful

Fair

Good

Excellent

The best

88 January 1995
 Im not sure I like the idea of reincarna-
tion. I mean, itd be okay if you could pick
whoor whatyoud return as, but the
way I understand it, the choice is out of
your hands. With my luck, Id come back
as something awful, like an earthworm or
a country-western singer.
The alternatives outlined in this months
games arent much better. The player
charactersplayer things?in Chaosiums
NEPHILIM* game spend eternity strug-
gling for spiritual fulfillment. The torment-
ed entities of White Wolfs WRAITH: THE
OBLIVION* game have an uphill battle
against alienation and fear, not to mention
their own oppressive alter-egos. Thats
why I originally intended to relegate these
products to a column about dark fantasy,
where good and evil blur together, and
only chumps remain optimistic.
Then I got a letter from Sam Shirley, one
of the NEPHILIM games designers. He
pointed out that reincarnation, in the
context of an RPG, can be thought of as a
metaphor for growth, a window into
light, a starting point . . . If anything, it is
path of light, a way out of the dark.
You know what? Hes right. To appreci-
ate a reincarnation RPG, youve got to
identify with your characters essence
the qualities that make him an individual
and not the character himself. The essence
has a life of its own, irrespective of its
human host. The goals of the essence can
be as challenging and as meaningful as any
experienced by a human being.
I know, I know. It sounds like gobblede-
gook. But if it doesnt make sense to you,
believe me, it will over the course of a
NEPHILIM or WRAITH campaign.
NEPHILIM* game
240-page softcover book
Chaosium Inc.
Design: Fabrice Lamidey, Sam Shirley,
Greg Stafford, and Frederic Weil
Editing: Charlie Krank and Sam Shirley
Illustrations: Frank Achard, Jean Bey, John
Bridges, and Darrell Midgette
Cover: Frank Achard, Jean Bey, and
Charlie Krank
Chaosium was once the Tiffanys of the
gaming industry, a company whose name
was synonymous with quality. But in the
last few years, Chaosium has lost some of
its luster. Its been nearly a decade since
the PENDRAGON* game, Chaosiums last
home run. The RUNEQUEST* game, the
first serious challenger to the AD&D
game, now languishes in publishing limbo;
neither Chaosium nor The Avalon Hill
Game Company, the games last caretaker,
has shown interest in tackling the hope-
lessly overdue revision.
Even the CALL OF CTHULHU* game,
Chaosiums crown jewel and my all-time
favorite RPG, is showing its age. Recent
adventures, like The Thing at the Threshold
and Adventures in Arkham Country, were
enjoyable but not memorable. The expan-
sions never caught fire; there have only
been two supplements for Cthulhu by Gas-
light since 1986. And White Wolfs lurid
Storyteller series, which includes the VAM-
PIRE: THE MASQUERADE* game, makes the
CoC games mannered style look quaint
(though considering some of White Wolfs
excesses, quaint aint necessarily bad).
But Chaosium has bounced back with
the NEPHILIM game, a dazzler of a game
that combines real-world history, fine-
tuned mechanics, and the most inventive
character-creation system this side of,
well, er, the VAMPIRE game. It may not be
a home runexpecting another CoC game
from Chaosium is like expecting another
E.T. from Steven Spielbergbut its a solid
triple.
Perhaps its coincidental, but the NEPHI-
LIM game in some ways resembles a White
Wolf product, what with its liberal use of
jargon (Stasis objects were first invented . . .
as receptacles to hold the Nephilims Ka-
elements between incarnations and prevent
their disassociation back into the elemental
fields), epigrams (To be or not to be, that is
the question), and evocative descriptions
(The Nephilim exhales a sweet odor, flow-
ery, close to that of honey). But where
White Wolf continues to struggle with the
fundamentalstheyve yet to learn the value
of understatementChaosium has game
design down to a science. Taut writing and
merciless editing make this game a joy to
read. These guys take their syntax as seri-
ously as their game systems.
Characters: The bizarre NEPHILIM
player characters make vampires and
werewolves seem like the next-door neigh-
bors; this may be the only rule book in
gaming history that refers to a PC as it. A
Nephilim, the it in question, is one part
ghost, one part energy, and one part ideol-
ogy, taking possession of a series of human
hosts (called Simulacrum) in an effort to
achieve self-actualization (called Agartha).
Character creation, which fills close to a
third of the book, begins with the selection
of Ka, a magical force that functions as a
character template; in a broad sense, Ka is
to the NEPHILIM game as class is to the
AD&D system. Each of the five KaFire,
Air, Earth, Water, and Moonis coupled
with an attribute and personality trait.
Fire Ka, for instance, affects the Strength
attribute and is associated with violence.
Air Ka influences Intelligence and is linked
with insight. The players choice of Ka
becomes the dominant Ka-element; the
two types of Ka adjacent to the dominant
Ka on the pentacle of opposition (a star-
shaped diagram with a different Ka on
each of the points), are neutral elements,
the remaining two are opposed elements.
The elements grant Attribute bonuses
depending on their location on the dia-
gram; a dominant Fire Ka might grant a
+4 bonus to Strength, an opposed Water
Ka might grant a +3 bonus in Intelligence.
Having nailed down his Ka, the player
then decides his PCs Metamorphosis, a set
of physical changes the PC will attempt to
achieve as the campaign progresses. Nine
options are available, among them Djinn,
Phoenix, Elf, Satyr, and Snake. Each has
five aspects: Face, Hands, Skin, Smell, and
Voice. The player receives a number of
Metamorphosis Points equal to the value
of the PCs dominant Ka (shown on a ta-
ble). He distributes these points among the
five aspects any way he likes. If he has 14
points, he might allocate five to Face, five
to Skin, and four to Smell (another first for
the NEPHILIM gameits the only RPG
with an Odor rating). The player earns
additional Metamorphosis points as a
result of successful adventures; to achieve
Agartha, all aspect scores must be raised
to 20. The Nephilims Simulacrum physi-
cally transforms as the aspect scores in-
crease. A high score in the Head Aspect of
the Djinn Metamorphosis, for instance,
causes the human hosts hair to stand
straight up. A high score in the Skin As-
pect of the Snake Metamorphosis turns
the hosts flesh to scales.
Since it may take a few centuries to
achieve Agartha, a typical Nephilim will
have already lived a life or two before the
campaign gets underway. The player
decides how many past lives his Nephilim
has experienced, with each life costing
two of his initial 22 Ka Points. Achieving
Agartha becomes more difficult as the Ka
Point pool decreases; that said, a Nephilim
can afford to invest in two or three past
lives without undue hardship. A past life
takes place in an historical era of the play-
ers choice, ranging from Predynastic
Egypt to 18th Century London. Dice rolls
determine the incarnations occupation,
circumstances of death, and Stasis Object,
a physical item that holds the Nephilims
magical energy (if a Stasis Object is de-
stroyed, the Simulacrum dies and the
Nephilim may disappear). Additionally,
each incarnation comes equipped with a
set of skills that the Nephilim carries into
subsequent lives. A typical incarnation,
then, might be a 14th Century chariot
driver from Thebes, skilled in First Aid
and Hunting, possessing a Staff of Rule as
a Stasis Object, and was murdered at age
75 by the Pharonic Priests. Another might
be a Babylonian princess with an aptitude
for Reading Hieroglyphics who was killed
by rioting mobs; a winged bull statue
serves as her Stasis Object.
The player selects his Nephilims current
Simulacrum from a list of 27 possibilities,
including Anthropology Professor, Marine
Corps Private, and Unemployed Single Moth
er. The Simulacrums Attributes derive from
a set of standard scores, adjusted by the
Nephilims Ka-Element modifiers. The player
also notes the Simulacrums appearance,
equipment, and income, then selects a suit-
able name. The game begins when the
Nephilim takes possession of the Simula-
crum, effectively transforming him (or her)
into an it.
Among the other numbers players have
to juggle are those for life experience
(which determines the chance of the Simu-
DRAGON 89
lacrum remembering facts from the 20th
century), Khaiba (the likelihood of a Nephi-
lim temporarily transforming into a mon-
ster), and chawe (points expended when
casting magic). But complicated doesnt
always mean crummy; thanks to the flow
charts and step-by-step examples, the
process is surprisingly smooth. And its
fun; I couldve rolled up past lives all night.
Mechanics: The NEPHILIM game uses
the standard Chaosium skill system, sec-
ond nature to CoC and RUNEQUEST game
players, with a few tweaks to accommo-
date the otherworldly PCs. The player
assigns a variable number of points to a
menu of skills ranging from Astrological
Lore to Submachine Gun. To use a skill,
the player rolls percentile dice; if the roll
is less than or equal to the PCs skill score,
the action succeeds. In situations involving
two or more opposing forces, such as a PC
attempting to push open a door blocked
by another character, the referee rolls
against the skill score on the Resistance
Table (lifted from the CoC rule book).
Unlike other Chaosium products, the
NEPHILIM game allows PCs to have two
scores per skill, one for the Simulacrum,
one for the Nephilim. The player may use
whichever score he likes, though only the
Nephilims score earns experience points.
Additionally, NEPHILIM PCs may have skill
scores in excess of 100%, the result of
experience acquired over multiple incarna-
tions. These super skills help absorb the
effects of negative modifiers and improve
the odds on the Resistance Table.
Its a logical, durable system, marred
only by the overly generous experience
rules. With a little luck, a PC can improve
any skill thats successfully used in an
adventure; if a percentile roll equals or
exceeds a skills current score, the score is
increased by 1d6 points. (Interestingly,
CoC PCs raise their scores by 1d10, even
though as mere mortals, their capabilities
pale before those of NEPHILIMs magical
entities.) The potential for abuse is obvi-
ous. Devious players will use as many
skills as they can, just to get the chance to
improve them at the end of a game. To
keep these sneaks in line, weve imposed a
house rule that allows no more than five
skills to be improved in the same cycle.
Combat employs the same system. The
attacking character makes an appropriate
skill roll, such as Melee or Missile. The
defending character attempts a Parry or
Dodge roll to fend off the attack. Success-
ful attack rolls result in a variable number
of damage points, absorbed by the de-
fenders armor or subtracted from his hit
point total. If the Simulacrum dies, the
Nephilim is forced out of the body, taking
the Simulacrums skills with it. The con-
trolling player then rolls percentile dice. If
the result is less than the Nephilims cur-
rent number of Ka points, the Nephilim
may search for a new Simulacrum and
attempt reincarnation (which is not with-
out risk; each attempt, successful or not,
90 JANUARY 1995
costs two Ka points). If the roll fails, the
Nephilim is whisked back to his Stasis
Object, where its trapped until a benevo-
lent referee engineers the conditions for
its release. If the Stasis Object has been
lost or destroyed, the Nephilim dissipates,
and the player starts from scratch. Other-
wise, the Nephilim continues to improve
its skills, acquire experience, and beef up
its Metamorphosis aspects until it reaches
Agartha, a shining goal at the end of
many lifetimes of effort. An Agarthan PC
becomes pure Ka, achieves perfect mas-
tery of magic, and gains access to extra-
planar realmsin other words, the player
wins, big time.
In contrast to the elegant skill system,
the magic system is a mess. Nephilim have
access to three categories of magic: Sor-
cery (traditional spells), Summoning (crea-
tures conjured to execute specific tasks),
and Alchemy (formulas linked to elemental
powers). Each category is divided into
three circles of knowledge, analogous to
the AD&D games spell levels. Spell-casting
involves manipulating magic fields, deter-
mining thresholds, expending chawe
points, and mastering game mechanics too
complex to summarize. Heres a sample of
what youre up against, excerpted from
the section on Astrological Modifiers: The
Ka-element associated with the field re-
ceives a bonus . . . The other Ka-elements
are influenced according to the position
they occupy on the pentacle; the two
neutral Ka-elements have no modifier,
while the two opposed Ka-elements have a
negative Astrological Modifier of equal
magnitude to the positive modifier for the
dominant element.
It might be worth the trouble if the
spells were out of the ordinary, but most
are mundane. Caduceus press restores lost
hit points. Chameleon skin allows the
target to change his shape. Skimpy de-
scriptions sabotage the inventive entries.
Seething aqua, for example, causes a fixed
volume of liquid to boil. But suppose the
liquids in a container? (And can it make a
living creatures blood boil?) Caress of
Lilith causes any human being to feel
supremely intense physical and mental
pleasure. Rut what does that mean? How
does it work in the context of a game? The
Summoning spells show promise. The
silvery scales of the ocean meadows calls
up a sentient suit of armor. Those who
creep and nibble conjures cat-sized imps
that eat everything in sight. But without
more details about the creatures, theyre
just another bundle of undercooked ef-
fects. The designers couldve done us a
favor by ditching the Sorcery and Alche-
my spells, streamlining the rules, and
using the extra space to develop the Sum-
moning material.
Campaigning: The NEPHILIM game
takes place in the contemporary world,
meaning that players dont need a lot of
background information to find their way
around. A chapter on the occult surveys
the myths (the Lost Civilization of Mu, the
Golden Fleece) and secret societies (the
Templars, the Teutonic Knights) relevant to
Nephilim history. A handful of plot hooks
are intended as campaign springboards,
but at a mere paragraph apiece, theyre all
but useless. I improvised a scenario involv-
ing a Templar infiltration of a sacred
Nephilim library in Japan, but it left a lot
to be desired. The players werent sure if
their Nephilim were supposed to cooper-
ate or compete, and didnt know how to
interact with nonplayer characters. I
blame the book as much as my own short-
comings as a referee; guidelines for Nephi-
lim behavior are scarce, and if the
designers know what goes into a good
adventure, they didnt think it was worth
sharing.
Evaluation: First-timers may find it
tough to connect with characters this
etherealin some ways, its like trying to
role-play a moonbeambut hang in there;
the NEPHILIM game rewards the stub-
born. The clever Metamorphosis rules
force players to balance their Ka require-
ments with the difficulties of functioning
in the real world (try making friends with
the neighbors when your skins covered
with scales). The character-creation sec-
tion shows how PCs evolve from blobs of
energy into richly textured personalties.
And Stasis Objects may be the most in-
triguing treasure items ever to grace the
pages of an RPG. The NEPHILIM game
boasts a great premise, great rules, and
great characters. And as soon as Chaosium
shows us what to do with it all, I suspect
well be looking at one of the best games
of the decade.
WRAITH: THE OBLIVION *
game
272-page softcover book
White Wolf Game Studio
Design: Mark Rein-Hagen with Sam Chupp
and Jennifer Hartshorn
Writers: Steven C. Brown, Phil Brucato,
Sam Chupp, Brian Campbell, Jackie
Cassauo, Graeme Davis, Dan Green-
berg, Mark Rein-Hagen, Jennifer Harts-
horn, Robert Hatch, Harry Heckel, Ian
Lemke, Ken Rolston, Kathleen Ryan,
and Teeuwyn Woodruff
Development: Jennifer Hartshorn with
Sam Chupp
Editing: Robert Hatch and Brian Campbell
Illustrations: Tom Berg, John Cobb, An-
thony Hightower, Larry MacDougall,
Anson Maddox, Robert McNeill, Ken
Meyer Jr., E. Allen Smith, Richard
Thomas, Joshua Gabriel Timbrook, and
Drew Tucker
Cover: Henry Higgenbotham and Larry
Snelly
Somebody ought to send the Gloom
Kings at White Wolf a box of cookies. If
the introduction to the WRAITH game is
any indication . . .
The stench of Death taints everything
we say and do. Life is so often pointless
and devoid of meaning, little more than a
journey into Oblivion. The pain just wont
go away.
. . . These guys are in desperate need of
cheering up.
But give them credit for remaining true
to their vision. The Storyteller line (which
includes the VAMPIRE: THE MASQUER-
ADE*, WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE*,
and MAGE: THE ASCENSION* games,
reviewed in DRAGON issues #175, #192,
and #202 respectively) reeks of attitude
and remains the system of choice for
nihilists of all persuasions. The WRAITH
game continues that tradition with its
creepy characters, vivid setting, and an
atmosphere so grim, it makes the CoC
game seem like a picnic at Grandmas.
Thats the good stuff. As for the not-so-
good stuff, the WRAITH game suffers
from eccentric organization (adventure
design is discussed before the rules are
explained) and baffling definitions. (Obliv-
ion, we may say, is nothing less than the
triumph of unbelief. When the people
trust in nothing, annihilation prospers.)
And as in previous Storyteller games, the
overwrought prose (Loss and torment of
all kinds seep through the membrane and
soak into the very essence of the place
where they transpired) often borders on
the ludicrous.
Characters: Players assume the roles
of ghosts, the spirits of recently deceased
humans. Character creation forgoes dice
rolls in favor of a purchase system that
gives players the freedom to shape their
PCs any way they like. The process begins
with the selection of the PCs career (crimi-
nal, cop, politician), the manner in which
the PC died (old age, murder, car wreck),
and an unresolved conflict that denied the
PC a peaceful afterlife (unrequited love, an
unpunished enemy, miscommunication
with a sibling). The player selects an Ar-
chetype (a concept imported from the
VAMPIRE RPG) that defines the PCs per-
sonality and rewards Willpower points for
performing particular actions. The Bravo
Archetype, who delights in bullying the
weak, gains Willpower when he forces
another character to do his bidding, while
the Curmudgeon, a know-it-all cynic, ac-
quires Willpower when a companion does
something stupid.
The player then ranks the three
AttributesPhysical, Mental, and Social
into Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary
categories. Each Attribute consists of
Talents (such as Alertness, Empathy, and
Intimidation), Skills (Etiquette, Firearms,
Leadership), and Knowledges (Bureaucra-
cy, Computer, Medicine), collectively
known as Abilities. The player spends 13
dots on the Primary Abilities, nine on the
Secondary, and five on the Tertiary; the
more dots, the stronger the Ability. He also
allocates dots to Background Traits (Allies,
Contacts, Status) and his initial Willpower,
which regulates his self-control. A wraiths
Arcanos indicates his aptitude in the spirit-
ual arts; depending on his guild allegiance,
he may be able to oubliette (banish a rival
wraith to another realm), materialize
(assume a near-human state), or gremlinize
(possess a machine and make it do his
bidding).
Ratings for Pathos, Fetter, and Shadow
also must be determined for each PC. The
Pathos rating, equal to five plus the num-
ber of dots assigned to the Memoriam
Background, rises and falls according to
how successfully the PC evokes a particu-
lar emotion. A PC attuned to Love, for
example, earns Pathos if he protects his
daughter or expresses unrequited love.
Fetters are physical objects that tie the PC
to the real world and enhance his ability
to perform supernatural acts. Each Fetter
receives a rating from one to five, depend-
ing on its significance; an engagement ring
might rate a four, a pair of baby shoes
might rate only a two. The Shadow repre-
sents the dark side of a wraith, taking the
form of a separate entity with its own
statistics. Controlled by the referee or
another player, the Shadow uses spell-like
powers to torment its PC; it might use
Freudian slip to cause the PC to take an
unintended action, or aura of corruption
to give him an offensive body odor. Unfor-
tunately, these concepts work better in
theory than in practice. Awarding Pathos
points is so subjective, its next to impos-
sible for the referee to be consistent.
(What exactly constitutes a suitable ex-
pression of unrequited love?) There are no
clear guidelines for rating Fetters. And the
wraiths in my group were so busy harass-
ing each other with Shadows that the
adventure came to a dead stop. Sophisti-
cated players may be able to untangle the
knots, but novices better stock up on
aspirin.
Mechanics: Most actions, combat in-
cluded, are resolved with the skill-check
system refined in previous Storyteller
games. The referee decides which statis-
tics apply to a particular situation, usually
an Attribute and Ability. If the PC wants to
scout the area for an enemy, for instance,
he uses his Perception Attribute and his
Alertness Ability. The player rolls a num-
ber of 10-sided dice equal to the Attribute
and Ability ratings. The referee deter-
mines a Difficulty Rating; spotting an
enemy might have a Difficulty Rating of
six (if its raining, the rating might be many pages have as much margin as text
boosted to eight). Each die that has a result
equal to or higher than the Difficulty
Rating counts as a success. The more
successes, the better the outcome. With
one success, the PC might catch a glimpse
of the enemy. With six, he might notice the
blood on the enemys hands. Its an effi-
cient system that produces satisfying
results, assuming the referee has a knack
for assigning Difficulty Levels.
Campaigning: Set in the same urban
squalor as the VAMPIRE and WEREWOLF
RPGs, the WRAITH game explores themes
of alienation, loss, and self-discoveryat
least, thats the intent. The game master
chapter suggests methods for maintaining
a horrific tone and employing dream
sequences. The cosmology chapter discuss-
es the Shroud, a barrier of fear separating
the living from the dead, and Maelstroms,
rolling storms of black mist that herald
disaster. The Underworld, the haunted
land that wraiths call home, has its own
politics, social order, and economy (souls
are smelted and shaped into goods). As
with the NEPHILIM game, however, there
are too many generalizations and not
enough specifics. The section on bohemian
Atlanta, a sample setting for a WRAITH
campaign, offers a good overview but few
close-ups; its like flying over a city in an
airplane. The plot hooks read like synop-
ses from TV Guide, too slight for satisfying
adventures.
Evaluation: The WRAITH game is the
weakest of Mark Rein-Hagens Storyteller
RPGs, lacking the intensity of the VAM-
PIRE game and the scope of the WERE-
WOLF RPG. (Stewart Wiecks MAGE game,
with its revelatory take on wizards and
spell-casting, remains the one to beat.)
Still, if you liked the VAMPIRE or WERE-
WOLF games, youll like the WRAITH
game, as its more or less the same. Thats
meant as a compliment. Ive never run
across a designer so willing to bare his
soulthe afterword, detailing Mark Rein-
Hagens personal and professional strug-
gles, reads like a excerpt from his
diaryand as a consequence, the WRAITH
game resonates with emotion. Having
completed his third excursion into the
netherworld, itll be interesting to see
where Rein-Hagen takes us next. Ill bring
the cookies.
Short and sweet
Underground Players Handbook, by
Loren Coleman, Nigel Findley, Aaron Loeb,
Bryan Nystul, Chris Pramas, Ray Win-
ninger, and Scot Yonan. Mayfair Games,
Inc., $18. Techno: Gear and Accessories
for Underground, by Paul Murphy. May-
fair Games, Inc., $18.
Mayfair returns with two supplements
for the UNDERGROUND* game, the
moody super-hero extravaganza whose
surly protagonists make the Punisher look
like Tinkerbell. Despite the padding
the Players Handbook contains a wealth of
useful information. Skill packages help
generate instant PCs, such as Snipers and
Combat Medics. The section on flashbacks
clarifies one of the games trickiest ele-
ments, while the Archetype chapter ex-
pands the options in the original rule
book, adding Clergymen, Spies, and Enter-
tainers. Techno provides descriptions and
statistics for a warehouse of equipment.
The gadgets themselves arent anything
special, comprising the usual array of
computers, sensors, and communications
DRAGON 91
gear. But Technos sense of humora
Prowler robot powered by a chimpanzee
brain; guidelines for constructing mobile
broadcasting units titled So Ye Wants to
Be A Piratedistinguishes it from the
zillions of similar guides.
The COUNCIL OF WYRMSTM setting by
Bill Slavicsek. TSR, Inc. $25.
If youre an AD&D game player whos
had your fill of wizards, whos fed up with
fighters, who doesnt care if he ever lays
eyes on another thief, brother, have I got a
supplement for you. The COUNCIL OF
WYRMS boxed set provides all the rules
and background material necessary for
staging adventures with dragon PCs. The
dragons color substitutes for race and
class; the addition of proficiencies (Chant-
ing, Looting, Religion) and a character kit
(Dragon-Mage, Dragon-Priest, Dragon-
Psionicist) make it a full-blown personality.
Players also may experiment with half-
dragon PCs, spawned from the union of
polymorphed dragons and their demi-
human vassals. This product doesnt lend
itself to long campaigns, since dragon PCs
are too disruptive to function in traditional
AD&D settings (their adventures occur in
IOS Blood Isles, a string of islands in a self-
contained world). But as a change of pace,
the COUNCIL OF WYRMS set is a roaring
success.
Star Wars Source book, by Bill Slavicsek,
Curtis Smith, Peter Schweighofer, and Bill
Smith. West End Games, $22. Rebel Alli-
ance Source book, by Paul Murphy and
Peter Schweighofer. West End Games, $22.
While George Lucas continued to dawdle
over the next Star Wars film(s), West End
spent the past year producing a steady
stream of quality source books for the
STAR WARS* game. These represent the
best of the batch, two hardcover volumes
describing the state of the universe at the
end of the first movie, arguably the most
popular era for STAR WARS scenarios.
Rather then rehash the familiar story line,
the Star Wars Source book focuses on
hardware and creatures, including inform-
ative looks at TIE starfighters, astromech
droids, and space slugs. The Rebel Alliance
Source book examines the loose organiza-
tion of men, women, and aliens who stand
in opposition to Darth Vader & Co. Intelli-
gence operations are discussed in detail, as
are ground-combat strategies and starfigh-
ter tactics. Unless theyre desperate to
bring their statistics up to date, owners of
the First Edition versions can skip these
books. But for Second Edition players,
especially those whove yet to get a cam-
paign off the ground, both are essential.
The Will and the Way, by L. Richard
Baker III. TSR, Inc., $13.
Though included as part of the DARK
SUN line, this could more accurately be
considered a sequel to The Complete Psi-
onics Handbook. Baker offers an assortment
of new kits (including the Beastmaster and
92 JANUARY 1995
the Sensai, a martial-arts master), along with
a supplementary set of rules for mental
combat, suitable for any campaign using
psionic characters. The appendix introduces
60-plus new sciences and devotions, many of
extraordinary power. Mindflame destroys up
to six adversaries as the same time. Mega-
kinesis levitates small mountains. These
psionicists are guys you dont want to cross.
The Complete Book of Villains, by Kirk
Botula. TSR, Inc. $18.
Rather than serve up a collection of pre-
rolled NPCs, this engaging source book
shows how to create believable bad guys
from the ground up. In clear language and
with plenty of examples, Botula covers
villainous organizations, the role of hench-
men, and of particular interest to novices,
the construction of intelligent adventures.
Botula correctly asserts that motivations
and objectives are more important than
Strength scores and armor classes; in fact,
the near-absence of statistics makes this an
excellent reference for all fantasy RPGs,
not just the AD&D game.
Ye Booke of Monstres, by Scott David
Aniolowski. Chaosium Inc., $11.
,, . . . a tentacled mass of what looked
like bloated raw en trails and eyes . . .
While that pretty much summarizes what
I see in the bathroom mirror first thing in
the morning, it also describes a Mnagalah,
one of the dozens of monsters, aliens, and
animated gore globs on display in this CoC
collection. In addition to game stats, the
entries include excerpts from the fiction of
Ramsey Campbell, the late Robert Bloch,
and Mythos godfather H. P. Lovecraft.
(,, . . . the Necronomicon illustration had
not reproduced everything; they had not
shown the transparency of the half-
gelatinous flesh, revealing the mobile
organs beneath the skin.) A pronunciation
guide explains how to say the names, so
you wont be embarrassed at the next Zytl
Qae rally.
ParaNormal, by Ed Gibson, Brian Schom-
burg, Jesse Van Valkenburg, and Charles
Ginsburg. West End Games, $18.
With their pun-heavy prose and adoles-
cent wisecracks, West End seems deter-
mined to turn the PARANOIA* game into
the role-playing equivalent of Beavis and
Butt-Head. In this episode, half the text is
devoted to television parodies, the other
half to horror film spoofs. Gimmicks in-
clude a comic book (Lifestyles of the Rich
and Ultraviolet), finger puppets (for the
likes of the Algae Chip Monster), and
fortune cookie fortunes (If you can read
this, youve exceeded your security clear-
ance.). ParaNormal demonstrates that the
PARANOIA game is still good for a few
laughsI liked Bernie and Ert, the Mup-
bots of Poppyseed Placebut the glory
days of Send in the Clones and The Yellow
Clearance Black Box Blues seem like a long
time ago.
Metamorphosis Alpha to Omega by Slade
Henson with Shane Hensley and John
Rateliff IV (system guide by David Zeb
Cook). TSR, Inc., $13.
Ive got a soft spot in my heart for the
Metamorphosis Alpha game, as it was the
second RPG I ever played (the D&D game
was the first). Reincarnated as part of the
AMAZING ENGINE line, its as goofy as it
was in 1975 and just as much fun. Essen-
tially a dungeon in outer space, Alpha to
Omega casts the players as mutated ani-
mals and sentient plants, then sticks them
aboard the starship Warden to battle secu-
rity robots, rogue androids, and one-eyed
flying fungi. The combat system couldve
used some streamlining; youve got to
determine advantage (a Psyche check),
initiative (10% of the characters Reflexes
attribute added to his 1dl0 roll), and tar-
geting (a general, non-vital, or vital area)
before you get around to making an attack
roll. Still, its worth the trouble to get the
chance to play an intelligent daisy.
Sacraments of Evil, by Scott David
Aniolowski, Fred Behrendt, Penelope Love,
Kevin A. Ross, and Todd A. Woods.
Chaosium Inc., $19.
The award-winning Cthulhu by Gaslight
supplement, which set the CoC game in
19th century Great Britain, came out in
1986. Sacraments of Evil is only the second
supplement since then, the first being
Dark Designs. Was it worth the wait? Sort
of. Like most adventure anthologies, Sac-
raments is a mixed bag. In this case, the
strong stuff (the scenarios that evoke both
the Victorian Era and the scope of the
Cthulhu Mythos) edges out the weak stuff
(the scenarios that couldve been used in a
standard CoC game with a little editing).
The best entries include Signs Writ in
Scarlet by Kevin Ross, inspired by Jack
the Ripper, and The Eyes of a Stranger, a
quirky blend of spiritualism and alien
invasion. I look forward to the third sup-
plement, which should hit the stores in,
oh, say 1998.
Rick Swan has designed and edited
nearly 50 role-playing products. His recent
projects for TSR include Caravans (for the
AL-QADIM setting) and Elminsters Ecolo-
gies You can write to him at 2620 30th St.,
Des Moines IA 50310. Enclose an SASE if
youd like a reply
* indicates a product produced by a company other
than TSR, Inc.
Whats your opinion?
What is the future direction of role-
playing games? What problems do you
have with your role-playing campaign?
Turn to this issues Forum and see
what others thinkthen tell us what
you think!
 News of people & events in the gaming industry
You can send us news, press releases,
and announcements using the Internet at
TSR.mags@genie.geis.com. We welcome
your comments at Rumblings, DRAGON
Magazine, PO. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI
53147, U.S.A.
Lead story:
Del Rey and Legend Join Forces
Legend Entertainment and Del Rey
Books have announced that they will joint-
ly produce software and books with SF
and fantasy themes. Del Rey is the leading
publisher of SF and fantasy; its best-
known authors include Terry Brooks,
David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, R. A.
Salvatore, Katherine Kurtz, Jack Chalker,
Frederick Pohl, Christopher Stasheff,
Harry Turtledove, and Alan Dean Foster.
The first products will be available this
year.
Also from Legend, the Death Gate com-
puter game is available, based on Margaret
Weis and Tracy Hickmans seven-novel
series of the same name. The graphics in
the promo stills look very sharp, and the
game includes a new short story by Mar-
garet Weis. Although it covers many sites
described in the series, according to Mar-
garet Weis, The game is different from
the novels, so reading the books wont
help you.
SJG and White Wolf play nice
Steve Jackson Games and White Wolf
Game Studio have settled their differences
over the licensed GURPS* releases of
WWs games, and the GURPS* MAGE: THE
ASCENSION* game is on a store shelf near
you as a result. The GURPS MAGE game is
the last GURPS/Storyteller release; the
GURPS WRAITH*, GURPS CHANGELING*,
and the GURPS MAGE Accessory products
will not see print.
94 JANUARY 1995
Also in the Win Some, Lose Some
category, SJGs ILLUMINATI: NEW WORLD
ORDER* card game has been released, but
the requirements of getting it to press
have pushed the IN NOMINE* RPG even
farther back in the SJG schedule. It should
appear this month.
More sounds of adventure
Following TSR, Inc.s lead into the audio
gaming world, Gold Rush Games recently
has gained a license from R. Talsorian
Games to produce an original soundtrack
for Talsorians CYBERPUNK* game. The
composer will be Erich Izdepski, and the
title of the soundtrack is Cyberpunk: Night
City Trax. The tape, available now, costs
$9.95 and is suitable as a background
soundtrack for any science-fiction game.
The wolf howls
Black Dog Games, a wholly owned subsidi-
ary of White Wolf Game Studio, will begin
releasing its very mature role-playing titles
this year. The Black Dog line will deal with
intensive role-playing themes: White Wolf is
currently lining up designers, including all
three of the designers of the HOL* RPG, a
hilarious yet obscene game first released by
Dirt Merchant Games. Black Dogs first
release will be a January or February re-
issue of the HOL game, but the Dirt Mer-
chants also are involved in future projects
(including, according to a highly-placed WW
source, a major fiction release). One later
release has a tentative title: The Last Supper:
the Giovanni Chronicles*. The designers are
Dan Greenberg and Teeuwynn Woodruff.
White Wolfs fiction branch is bearing
fruit also. The first product of White
Wolfs alliance with HarperCollins will be
Dark Destinies, a WORLD OF DARKNESS
hardcover anthology that includes a new
Harlan Ellison story. It is due out this
month.
White Wolf Game Studio also is moving
its offices. The pack currently is scouting
locations. Well provide more details when
the address of their new den becomes
available.
Roll them tanks, girls
They should call it the MOVIEBOOK
system. West End Games is licensing right
and left, and Bill Olmesdahl and Brian
Schomburg are currently working on a
Tank Girl movie tie-in for the companys
MASTERBOOK* system. The supplement
will be released by the end of February to
tie in with the release of the movie. It will
definitely include movie stills; line art by
Jamie Hewlett, the artist on the Tank Girl
comic book, is a definite maybe. As if one
cult flick per year werent enough, Ed
Bolme will write the Necroscope movie tie-
in for the MASTERBOOK system. It wont
appear until August.
Off the wire: New FASA
software house
FASA Corp., will spin off another com-
puter design company, headed by former
SHADOWRUN* game developer (and
DRAGON Magazine contributor) Tom
Dowd. The company is called FASA Inter-
active Technologies and will concentrate
on a BATTLETECH* CD-ROM game for
1996. FASA Interactive will absorb FASA
Corporations animation department, those
hardy souls who produce the BATTLE-
TECH animated series. Mr. Dowd has been
busy lately; he is also the author of a new
SHADOWRUN novel, Burning Bright.
Weve no word on whether hell be able to
keep writing books in his new job.
l indicates a product produced by a company other
than TSR, inc.
 Finally home after an over-long day
with little more planned than a good din-
ner and a mindless night of TV watching,
I sighed to myself. The door making its
usual rattle as I opened it, I didnt notice
anything different about my apartment
until I went to get my mailonly to be
confronted by a parchment scroll floating
amidst a cloud of blue sparkles in the
middle of my living room!
Now, as I made clear in my previous
article (I Sing a Song by the Deep-Water
Bay in DRAGON issue #211), Im becom-
ing accustomed to the visits of personages
varied and powerful in my office at TSR,
Inc., but Id never been bothered at home
and I thanked the Fates for that. But, of
course, all good things come to an end.
I immediately stifled a comment about
trespassers and nosy wizards (as said
offenders tend to lurk around longer than
many believe) and reached for the floating
missive. Sparkles swirling about my hand
and dissipating, the scroll fell into my
palm, its seal face-up and identifying it as a
message from the Archmage of Water-
deep, Khelben Blackstaff Arunsun! The
scarlet wax seemed to glow faintly where
the Blackstaffs mark was pressed into it,
suggesting magic.
Well, Laeral had warned me that he
wanted to meet with me; I guess I just
missed him. Just as well, since my
apartmentlike my officeis organized as
a minor variant of Chaos theory, and
books and papers lie haphazardly stacked
on any horizontal surface. As I broke the
wax seal, the scroll leapt from my hands,
unrolled itself, and levitated perpendicular
to the floor, with a small image of Khelben
hovering regally an inch off the parch-
ment. I muttered, Nice touch, Khelben. I
trust youll tell me what you were doing
here as I sat down to listen and take
notesaside from Elminster and a few
dottier souls of the Realms, there are no
guarantees that a mage will ever repeat
himself.
Greetings, chronicler. Though I had
been warned that you keep odd hours, I
had expected you home at a civil hour for
supper; I choose not to disturb those at
their work, as I know how little I enjoy
disturbances during my labors. Still, in an
attempt to find something suitable for
dinner, I found your plentiful collection of
dried soups, half-curdled milk, and frozen
collections of meager meats and vegetables
on a slab of something that only resembles
an edible bread pitiful. Elminster intro-
duced me to that delicacy called pizza that
exists only on your world, and that, sir,
was most definitely not of the same cali-
bre. When next I visit, please be so kind as
to have something remotely edible on
hand.
That said, I shall reveal the original
purpose of our aborted meeting. I had
intended to talk of Waterdeep and of
things magical, specifically an old phenom-
enon borne anew referred to now as
series magic. Of late, Waterdeep and her
96 JANUARY 1995
environs have seen a rebirth in the use
and creation of items that, when used in
certain sequences or organized in a partic-
ular arrangement, have new and expand-
ed powers. While I shant bore you with
the minutia of the newer items, suffice it
to say that they are a nuisance soon to
grow out of hand without some control of
the perpetrators.
Series magic is highly dependent on the
casting and creation preparations. Often,
series magic can be worked only with the
purest of materials. Such surviving elven
and dwarven craftsmen who know of the
necessary qualities and processes to pro-
cure such materials number less than two
score across the Realms; even among
Bruenor Battlehammers folk at Mithral
Hall, only three smiths know of forging
techniques that can purify metals and
stone sufficiently for the purposes of
series magical items. In addition, series
magic can be set or triggered only at vari-
ous places of power throughout the
Realms. These places, for the most part,
are becoming ever fewer, since the demise
of Myth Drannor, Delzoun, and the Fallen
Kingdom. Among places of power in the
Savage Frontier, a few isolated areas re-
main in the High Forest, the Spine of the
World, and Neverwinter Wood, though I
wouldst doubly be a fool to reveal their
exact locations and what preparations
need be done there.
Series items, due to their rarity and
complexity of creation (as well as their
awesome powers), are often considered
artifacts, though their destruction is some-
times far less a trial than, say, trying to
unmake the ring of gaxx. For centuries,
the only objects commonly known to have
abilities of series magic were the much-
fabled rod of seven parts and my own
relatively recent creation, the staff of
Waferdeep. Now, those who studied such
things knew of more items and artifacts
that existed in the Realms (and other
worlds) but wisely kept such information
to themselves. Now, I feel it is time to
share some of that knowledge that your
cohorts might know of the coming magical
threats in the Realms (and on my colleague
Dalamars world of Krynn).
Included with this missive is a sheaf of
parchments delineating two collective
items of aeons past that have been active
of late, and serve to inspire those mages
greedy for coin or power into creating
worse devices for their own gain. Make
wise use of this information, and educate
those of your world of these magical antiq
uities and the magics behind them. Some
of the items constituent parts have not
been located at this time, and it is my hope
that they should find their way into scru-
pulous hands, whether mine or another
like-minded Torilian, for the sake of all the
Realms.
Blades of Ochir Naal
Tiamats prophet
Origin: The once-named Blades of
Dragons Tongue were created by Mahtor
Auricheart, a fabled female dwarven
dragon-slayer and smith from long-lost
Delzoun; legend has it she managed to
create five adamantite daggers with magi-
cal abilities through lost runic magics and
a process of tempering the blades in drag-
ons blood. Each of their platinum pom-
mels resembled the dragon that tempered
it; hence, the pommels have a standard
grip that ends with the heads of a black,
blue, green, red, or white dragon. The
blades were in use for a few centuries
during Delzouns twilight, and their abili-
ties resembled those that are now com-
monly held by dragon-slaying swords.
Nineteen centuries ago, the Blades of
Dragons Tongue were stolen by a corrupt
human wizard or priest named Ochir
Naal. Various and conflicting tales claim he
was a Netherese necromancer, a forgotten
and outcast founder of the Cult of the
Dragon, the powerful mentor of Halaster
Blackcloak, or an evil priest of an other-
worldly dragon god. None of these claims
matter much, nor can any be conclusively
proven, but his alterations to the blades
linked his name to them forevermore and
granted him the secondary title of
Tiamats prophet. Ochir Naal was slain
1,400 years ago by Harkter Allhon, a hu-
man paladin, and his paramour, Pyyra
Thesme, a priestess of Helm.
Last known location: Since the death
of Ochir Naal, no one person has collected
and wielded all the blades, but their
powers were carefully archived by Pyyra;
the diary of her quest for and slaying of
Ochir Naal, including the notes and infor-
mation on the now-named blades of Ochir
Naal, was kept a precious secret heirloom
of the Allhon family for seventeen centu-
ries. Only Khelben Arunsun, Laeral
Silverhand, and a handful of others (most
likely the Chosen of Mystra and one or
two Master Harpers) even know of the
volumes existence, let alone what secrets
it contains. Of the blades, these are their
last known locations:
Black Blade/Acridirk: The black dragon
blade was lost in Undermountain 32 years
ago. Its carrier was a ranger/Harper friend
named Cirel, of the adventuring company
The Clan of Dark Justice. Only two of
this company survived the encounter
where Cirel was lost; they made it to the
Temple of Eilistraee (see DRAGON issue
#176) via a teleport, but Cirel remained
behind to hold back their enemies and buy
them time. This ambush by a horde of
nagas happened on a lower level of Unde-
rmountain (Level Six or Seven).
Blue Blade/Azurazor: The blue blade is
currently in the hands of an elven Harper
named Orist Moonbow. He is currently
traveling in the foreign lands of Maztica.
Green Blade/Chlorazor and White
Blade/Icedge: After centuries of owner-
ship by the Allhon family, the white &
green blades were stolen or taken from
their slain masters grip. Both blades are in
the hands of the Cult of Dragon, though
the names of their one or two owners
remain unknown.
Red Blade/Firedge: Sylune of Shadow-
dale was the last known possessor of the
red blade. Since her fiery death at the
hands of a dragon, the blades location has
been concealed by her confidants. Many
believe it still lies somewhere around the
Shadowdale area, though no magical inqui-
ries have turned it up.
Appearance: On their own, the blades
of Ochir Naal are daggers of exquisite
workmanship. Each of the blades was
formed of purest adamantite, and their
edges remain undulled despite their use
over the past twenty centuries. The pom-
mels are each made from a respective
dragons tooth and a platinum grip
wrapped in the skin of a black, green,
blue, white, or red dragon. The blade is
seated in the dragons tooth, carved to
appear as if the pommel held the blade in
a dragons jaws. At the end of the pommel,
an appropriate dragons head is carved.
Abilities: Each of the blades grants the
bearer the ability to understand and speak
dragons languages. Each also acted as a
dagger of throwing +2; against their
respective dragons, the blades acted as
daggers of throwing +4 and dealt triple
damage against the dragon (3d4 +4 hp of
damage). Khelbens note: These abilities,
given to the blades by their dwarven crea-
tor, still exist, regardless of the form or
combination of the blades.
Altered abilities: Ochir Naal infused
the blades with the ability to fuse together
into collectively more powerful weapons
by simply touching them together. While
each blade was a dagger individually, two
merge into a short sword, three together
become a long sword, four daggers fuse
into a broad sword, and all five combine to
become a two-handed sword. When the
blades join, the pommels skin becomes a
alternating colored-scale pattern of the
respective dragons, and the heads of the
dragons remain, facing different direc-
tions. The power of the collective blades
grows with each addition, in the following
ways:
Short blade (any two daggers): The blade
bearer can cast fly twice per day; when
cast, the bearers back sprouts illusory
wings of one of the respective dragon
types of his blade. This form includes all
above-listed magical abilities.
Long blade (three daggers): The blade
bearer is immune to the breath weapons
of the respective blade types. Includes all
above abilities.
Broad blade (four daggers): The blade
can release the breath weapons of its
respective dragon-types; this power can be
used four times per day, but each dragon
breath type can be used once per day.
Includes all above abilities.
Great blade (all five daggers): The blade
can, using a ceremony delineated in
Pyrras diary from Ochir Naals own notes,
slice open a gate to the Outer Plane of
Baator and allow Tiamat, the Queen of the
Chromatic Dragons, to enter the Prime
Material. This power never has been used,
as Ochir Naal was in the midst of the
ceremony when he was slain by Pyrra and
Harkter. Includes all above abilities.
The four ruling rings of
Yrix Alquinnar
Origin: Centuries past in the lost realm
of Netheril, the foremost elemental mage
of that age was name Yrix Alquinnar. His
passing came just after Netheril reached
its height, and his power was not available
to help stem the tide of the advancing
desert of Anauroch (which brought
Netheril to its end). Still, some of his works
still exist in the Realms today. Rings of
elemental command are changed only
slightly now from their original prototypes
created and honed by Yrix long millennia
ago, and the same holds true for many
basic elemental spells in use in modern
Toril. But the greatest artifact left of Yrix
Alquinnar the Elementalist are his four
ruling rings.
The ruling rings of Yrix Alquinnar are
fabled for their power among elementa-
lists, since the combined power of the
rings allows their wielder to command any
and all elementals and para-elementals!
For this reason alone, any mention of the
rings to a student of the elements is likely
to procure rapt interest. Outside of ele-
mental circles, many practitioners of mag-
ic misconstrue the title of the items and
seek the ruling rings, assuming their
power is tied to charms and enchantments
and will allow them to conquer peoples
wills. Due to these confusions, the rings
have seen a total of over 200 different
owners in the centuries since Yrixs death
by natural causes; he left one of each of
his ruling rings to his four apprentices,
four sisters by birth, named Sarim, Tasia,
Natasa, and Leia Maarekh. The sisters
eventually married and three of them
began long-lived dynasties that many
believe have long since died out, passing
their powerful inheritances to other
hands.
Last known locations: All but one of
the ruling rings has indeed passed out of
the family dynasties of Yrixs apprentices.
The four rings are hereafter referred to
by the elements that they command, to
easily identify the powers and the owners.
The ring of air lies deep in the family
vault of the Maerklos noble clan of Water-
deep; of the clan, only Matriarch Aldara
Maerklos (LG hf W14) knows of its power
and history. Her original clan name was
Marrek, an old, established merchant clan
with at least one mage per generation
within the bloodline (a near-direct line
running to the familys original name of
Maarekh, though this fact is known only
to Khelben; Aldara herself only traces her
 direct roots back six centuries). Aldara
married Bastiabas Relekos and fused his
name with her matriarchal holdings to
form the Maerklos clan 32 years ago. She
has never used the ring herself, but she is
preparing her daughter for her steward-
ship of this powerful item. Outside of the
Maerklos clan, only Laeral and Khelben
are aware of the clans possession of the
ring, and they both approve of the matri-
archs utter discretion with it.
The ring of earth has been lost for cen-
turies; its last known holder was Sarim,
the eldest Maarekh sister. She was slain by
the greedy brother of her own husband,
once he realized the power of her ring.
The brother was, in turn, slain by Sarims
husband and he threw the ring into the
Sea of Swords. In the centuries since, tales
of the ring of earth are spun in taverns,
often with no basis in fact. However, 143
years ago, a mage and pasha of Calimport
wore what seemed to be one of the rings
and commanded powers over stone and
earth. When he was assassinated by rivals
127 years ago, his body was recovered but
the ring has never been found.
The ring of fire has rested on a scarlet
pillow of crushed velvet within the magi-
cal vaults of Blackstaff Tower for 178
years; Khelben won it as a prize for win-
ning a spell duel against a tiefling wizard
while traveling amongst the planes. Only
Laeral, Khelben, the Simbul, and Elminster
know of this items location, and none
have had cause to use it for 149 years.
The ring of water is one of the treasured
artifacts in the hands of the Simbul, the
ruler of Aglarond and sister to Laeral.
Given to her over six centuries ago by a
former lover and the final heir of Natasa
Maarekh, she has carefully guarded it
since then. It has only left her possession
once for a short time, to allow her sister
and Khelben Arunsun a chance to examine
the item.
Appearance: Each of the ruling rings
is, in fact, two rings of various metals
joined together by two small silver chains
set with very small gems in the middle of
the links. Each of the rings that comprise
the ruling rings have tiny gems set all
around the ring.
The ring of air has two platinum rings
set with diamonds and sapphire chips are
set in the linking chains. The ring of earth
has two copper rings set with onyx and
amber chips rest in the links of its chains.
The ring of fire is a set of two gold rings
with inset rubies, the chains encrusted
with peridots. The ring of water is made
of two silver rings set with emeralds and
joined by aquamarine-set chains.
Each ruling ring is then worn by two
adjoining fingers, and all four rings would
be worn on eight fingers of two hands.
Legends describe Yrix Alquinnar cupping his
hands and glowing bands of power would
unite the four ruling rings when in use.
Abilities: The respective ruling rings all
98 JANUARY 1995
were the original templates that created
rings of elemental command; thus, they
operate with all the powers attributed to
their respective items from the DMG,
though the bearers of the ruling rings
have the following benefits:
Wearers do not suffer the saving throw
penalties of the current elemental rings.
Wearers need to slay an elemental to
gain access to the rings power.
All powers function at 16th level of
experience or greater if needed.
In addition, the ruling rings hold the
power to individually or collectively con-
trol elementals of the noted types (charm
with a 6 penalty for elementals save):
Ring of Air: Air elementals (ld4 8HD,
1d2 12HD, or 1 16HD).
Ring of Earth: Earth elementals (1d4
8HD, 1d2 12HD, or 1 16HD).
Ring of Fire: Fire elementals (1d4 8HD,
1d2 12HD, or 1 16HD).
Ring of Water: Water elementals (1d4
8HD, 1d2 12HD, or 1 16HD).
Rings of Air & Earth: Air & earth ele-
mentals (1d6 8HD, 1d4 12HD, or 1d2
16HD).
Rings of Air & Fire: Air & fire elemen-
tals (1d6 8HD, 1d4 12HD, or 1d2 16HD);
smoke para-elementals (1d4 8HD, 1d2
12HD, or 1 16HD).
Rings of Air & Water: Air & water ele-
mentals (1d6 8HD, 1d4 12HD, or 1d2
16HD); ice para-elementals (1d4 8HD, 1d2
12HD, or 1 16HD).
Rings of Earth & Fire: Earth & fire ele-
mentals (1d6 8HD, 1d4 12HD, or 1d2
16HD); magma para-elementals (1d4 8HD,
1d2 12HD, or 1 16HD).
Rings of Earth & Water: Earth & water
elementals (1d6 8HD, 1d4 12HD, or 1d2
16HD); ooze para-elementals (1d4 8HD,
1d2 12HD, or 1 16HD).
Rings of Fire & Water: Fire & water
elementals (1d6 8HD, 1d4 12HD, or 1d2
16HD).
Rings of Air, Earth, & Fire: Air, earth, &
fire elementals (1d8 8HD, 1d6 12HD, or
1d4 16HD); magma & smoke para-
elementals (1d6 8HD, 1d4 12HD, or 1d2
16HD).
Rings of Air, Earth, & Water: Air, earth,
& water elementals (1d8 8HD, 1d6 12HD,
or 1d4 16HD); ice & ooze para-elementals
(1d6 8HD, 1d4 12HD, or 1d2 16HD).
Rings of Air, Fire, & Water: Air, fire, &
water elementals (1d8 8HD, 1d6 12HD, or
1d4 16HD); ice & smoke para-elementals
(1d6 8HD, 1d4 12HD, or 1d2 16HD).
Rings of Earth, Fire, & Water: Earth,
fire, & water elementals (1d8 8HD, 1d6
12HD, or 1d4 16HD); magma & ooze para-
elementals (1d6 8HD, 1d4 12HD, or 1d2
16HD).
All four rings: Air, earth, fire, & water
elementals (1d10 8HD, 1d8 12HD, or 1d6
16HD); ice, magma, ooze, &. smoke para-
elementals (1d8 8HD, 1d6 12HD, or 1d4
16HD). There is no chance of any elemen-
tal or para-elemental breaking free of the
control of the wearer of all four rings.
Of late, the ring of fire has garnered the
Blackstaffs attentions, as it periodically
flares with power; upon conversing with
Matriarch Maerklos and finding the same
reactions from her ring of water, he theo-
rizes that the fourth ring is within Water-
deep! What truly maddens Khelben is the
fact that he cannot locate either the ring
of earth or anyone who apparently knows
about it and its power. He has not alerted
either the Watch-wizard corps or the
Watchful Order of this occurrence, as his
reputation would hardly keep any greedy
souls from seeking the ring for their own.
He has, oddly enough, confided in Lord
Maskar Wands, whose conservatism in
magic use makes him an ideal ally in pre-
venting anyone from abusing the abilities
of this precious item. Still, the search by
these two arch-mages and their assistants
has taken up five weeks with neither
being any closer to discovering the item
(though both believe to still be within the
city).
A final note
Oh, fair word, chronicler. Bear in mind
while informing your public that these are
far from the only series items within the
fair city of Waterdeep and definitely not
the most powerful of such items within
the Realms. Should none abuse the infor-
mation and only learn wisely from the
education herein, we shall all talk at a
later time of such wonders as Ahghairons
Great Cloak, which chooses its own wear-
er for one night a tenday and aids the
worthy while punishing the guilty, the
Master Staff of Halaster Blackcloak, one of
the most ancient of items and ten times
more powerful than any current staff
wielded by those who walk the Realms
Above, or perhaps you might learn of the
simple yet powerful Mosaics of Mystra,
whose power aids the Lords, their agents,
and those worthy enough to visit her
private chapel deep within the bowels of
the Palace of Waterdeep.
It is imperative that I close this missive
now, as other matters need my attention
in the City of Splendors. By the gods, Id
thought my duties would lighten with my
resignation from the Lords Circle! Well,
when next we speak, it is my hope to meet
thee in the flesh, for I must bestow my
felicitations on your meticulous collecting
much of Waterdeeps lore. And then may I
teach you of proper foods and their prepa-
rations. Fare thee well, chronicler, and
may Mystra guide thee in thy endeavors.
Here it comes!
Wondering what TSR is about to do
next? Turn to TSR Previews in this
issue and find out!

1
Harper reports indicate this ambitious
youngster came to her powers somewhere
in the cities about The Lake of Steam, and
journeyed to Thay in hopes of becoming a
Red Wizard. She either was rebuffed or
someone tried to enslave her, and she
came to Telflamm with fire in her eyes and
strong magic in her hands.
Watch this one; rumors in Impiltur say
she has ties to the Pirates of the Fallen
Stars, and has recently become a partner
in both a caravan company and an up-
lands thaedar. The obvious questions
(With what? Whence came her coins?)
have been asked in Telflamm more than
once, with no good answers as yet. The
usual fast-money means for a mage are
simple coercion of common folk by magic,
or selling spell-gained information about
rivals or magical protection to ambitious,
sharp-dealing merchants. Yet the whispers
in Telflammparticularly in the adventur-
ers tavern known as The Sword And
Hornspeak of ships sailing the night sky,
and a few corpses that can only be giff left
in an alley. Trade with other worlds must
always been looked into, or well have the
Arcane (or worse) ruling Faerun before (as
they say in Aglarond) one can count ones
own fingers and toes.
Among all the unscrupulous young
human wizards Ive seen down the years,
male and female, this one stands out for
the strange spells shes mastered: shes
seldom without at least one animated
human skull flying about at her shoulder.
A bit ostentatious, but then shes still
young. These skulls spit flame and light-
ning as she willsand that smacks so
much of old Netherese magics that Id best
investigate where shes picked up such
tricks. Thereve been rumors in Raurin
about a lich taking young mages as ap-
prentices, in return for their services as
agents going into large and magic-strong
cities, where liches dare not venture.
This Aldreth Fireshar makes her home
on a barge that spends much of its time in
Telflamm harbor. Its guarded by at least
six gargoyles, so shes either ever-scared or
has something mighty valuable aboard.
Sunder3 thinks she broken into a few Red
Wizards tombs in Thay, and may have had
to leave in a hurrybut brought a few
books of lore with her, and perhaps an
Evermagic.4 Such an artifact would ex-
plain the huge variety of items shes wield-
ed over the last year, while taking on
every brigand group or adventuring band
she could find an excuse to attack. When-
ever the Witches of Rashemen or my
100 JANUARY 1995
Aldreth Fireshar
by Ed Greenwood
beloved in Aglarond get concerned at all
this spell-hurling and come looking for
her, this Aldreth drops out of sight. Per-
haps Jhessail of the Knights could look
into thislocal Harper eyes arent even
sure if she has a refuge somewhere, or
takes jaunts onto other planes, or goes
down into The Realms Below.
Aye, this Aldreth bears watching.
Theres more to her than spell-spitting
skulls. She was involved in a recent goblin
attack on a Zhentarim caravan near
Melvauntsupposedly a raid by desper-
ately hungry goblins, but Manshoons lads
knew as well as I did that magic must be
behind it. As far as Immer5 can tell, they
dont know which mage or mages did the
dirty workbut the Harpers are sure. A
mage trained by my beloved6 used a pow-
erful spell that can identify magics recent-
ly used in a precise location. One of
Aldreths personal spells, commanding
massed goblins, was employed. No one is
sure quite what she took from the
caravannothing seemed to be missing,
after the goblins were driven offbut I
suspect that the coffer of scrolls won by
Zhent agents from a spider-haunted ruin
in upland Chessenta also contained a re-
cord of where a powerful magical item, a
sky chariot made in ancient Mourativi
Teshy Mir (others render that name differ-
ently) lies hidden, and how to get past the
magical defenses laid upon its hiding-place.
I must get back to work on that blood
tracer spellits the only way to follow her
through gates and teleports and magical
shielding. I must personally draw blood
from her to activate it, which might be
tricky, and will certainly earn me yet
another foe, but after that it will last as
long as her present body does (in what-
ever form), and so I can put the Knights,
or a few senior Harpers, to trailing her.
She might well lead them straight to this
sky chariot; I know shes not tried for it
yet, because its defenses were devised to
exhaust the magic that any one mage,
however mighty, can wield. So shell need
aid: powerful wizards she can trust or at
least work with, and Ive seen no sign of
her contacting such folk . . . yet.
Notes
1. From Thorn Astarl of Nethentir. (Look
this young man up: he runs an adventur-
ing band, The Black Horns, out of an old
keep on Duldiir Street, at the east end of
town, and sounds like hell bear watching.
Hes a likely candidate for the Red Wizards
to buy his loyalty or impersonate by magi-
cal means, and my favorite witch, old
Ulthaea Moonhawk of Rashemen. I won-
der if shes learned dragonshape by now?
Drop in on her in spring or summer, by
the wise eyes of Mystra! Those winter
winds are cold.) Perhaps some of her
grandnieces will be ready to be appren-
ticed to outlander mages by then . . . dont
forget about this now, El.
2. Thaedar: An organization created by
several farms for common defense, trans-
portation of goods to market, and a pool of
labor for harvest-time. More common in
the northeastern lands of the Inner Sea
than elsewhere, but popular in Amn and
Chessenta of old (where many still exist).
3. Sunder Snowhand, Mage of Many
Circles (a former apprentice of mine),
about of an age with Vangerdahast; his
nickname comes from the airborne spell-
circles he creates, as shields against hostile
magic. A good man, straight and decent, if
a bit too stout and peace-loving for his
own good. Hes helped Harpers in Thesk
any number of times.
4. These powerful artifacts were old
when Netheril was young; they survive
because of their random, everchanging
nature: they take the shape of one widely-
known magical item after another, func-
tioning as a wand of magic missiles or a
censer controlling air elementals for a
timeand then changing to something else
(always at the worst possible time, it
seems). Any mage who tries to divine the
nature of an Evermagic with spells, or
influence what it turns into, will never see
it againit always teleports far across
Faerun whenever its wielder uses magic
on it. Curiously, this never occurs when a
neutral or hostile mage hurls spells at it,
but only when its owner takes action.
When an Evermagic changes form, a
tinkling chord is heard, rather like the
swash of notes made by striking ones
hand down a row of harpstrings. Thats
the only known way to be sure an items
really an Evermagic. The true form, pur-
pose, and origin of these pieces remains a
mystery. Something else Ill have to look
into, someday . . . in my idle hours, of
course.
5. Harper spy in The Citadel of the Rav-
en, a wizard in the Zhentarimand not his
real name, of course.
6. The Simbul, Queen of Aglarond, of
course. The mage she trained was Yandra
Bellfrost, a sorceress who now dwells in
disguise, in Hillsfar.
Artwork by Gary Williams
DRAGON 103
104 JANUARY 1995
DRAGON 105
 By Joseph Pillsbury
106 JANUARY 1995
DRAGON 107
108 JANUARY 1995
D R A G O N 109
110 JANUARY 1995

Hot figures for cold weather
Happy New Year! This month weve got a
large number of old and new products to
present to you. Therefore, as a New Years
present, Im going to skip the soapbox and
move right into the reviews. Lets see what
we can do to brighten your spirits during
this cold season, and help you find some-
thing that you will enjoy.
As a last note, it is not too early to be
planning an event for the 1995 GEN CON
Game Fair. The deadline for judge registra-
tion is approaching (sse the ad in his is-
sue), and you want to have your scenarios
ready to avoid the last-minute rush.
Reviews
Mystic Molds
1565 SR 19
Bucyrus OH 44820
TPK 101 Temple Kit
This plaster temple kit was originally
designed as a 25-mm structure, but can be
used for any figures up to 32-mm scale.
112 January 1995
1994 by Robert Bigelow
Photographs by Mike Bethke
Currently this kit is available only by mail
order only throughout much of the U.S.
and Great Britain. The kit comes with all of
its components sealed in bubble wrap and
tightly packed in a heavy mailing box.
The temple base measures 275 mm
high X 330 mm long and contains the tem-
ple foundation and a small amount of
grassy, bumpy ground around it. A stone
walkway and steps lead to an uneven
temple floor showing signs of settling and
a stone dais. The 140 mm X 180 mm inner
floor is surrounded by a low, uneven wall
that would be at the perfect sitting height.
There were few bubble holes noted in
either of our two floor models. The 12
stone pillars were a different story. These
pillars are cast in two pieces and then
assembled at the manufacturer. Both of
our kits had pillars that were slightly
askew or uneven at the top or bottom.
Usually these fit correspondingly rough
spots on the wall, but frequently there
was a gap between the top of the post and
the one-piece roof. There was a lot of
bubble pitting on the pillars. Both of these
problems can be fixed by filling the of-
fending areas with some sort of putty and
letting it dry completely. The roof is vent-
ed and is molded to represent large blocks
with some cracking on the smooth tops
and bottoms, and rough sides and lips.
The very top of the roof is supported by
four quarter-size pillars. There are no
flaws in the roof.
The temple is an excellent buy, and
simply requires time and some TLC. It is
interesting that the problems were much
worse on the painted set that was sent to
us than on the pieces sent to us for assem-
bly or on my store stock. The kit is availa-
ble in either a finished version for $22.95
or an unfinished kit for $14.95, which can
be primed and painted with any oil or
water-based medium. Remember that
shipping costs will be added to this price.
Tables ****
These plaster tables are scaled to fit 25-
mm figures and represent the thick plank-
type usually associated with medieval
taverns. The tabletops are supported by
cast ribbed pedestals, all of which have a
slightly rough appearance with some
problems with fill or partial bubble holes.
The one circular and two of the rectangu-
lar tables have a variety of foodstuffs on
them; beverage containers, chicken,
bread, fruit, vegetables, and cheese are all
clearly visible. The third rectangular table
contains two books, an ink pot, and two
used candles. The last detail is a small
chest that has little separation from the
table. Most of the items have small imper-
fections that can be easily fixed. All this
for $1.50what a deal! This is a very good
addition to any low-tech RPG.
Global Games
1666 St. Clair Ave. W.
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M6N 1H8

I want to thank Global Games for provid-

ing us with the Advanced Rules for the
LEGIONS OF STEEL* game (stock #1100).
All information for the following units
came from that book.

Behemoth Armor
While the particular miniature we re-
viewed is made of lead, this 28-mm-scale
figure is currently being released in a lead-
free format. The Behemoth suit is a heavy,
multi-weapon platform on legs. This minia-
ture is over 48 mm in the crouched posi-
tion and 35 mm across the shoulders. The
figure is made up of two arms and a main
torso connected via oval shoulder sockets
that allow a one-way-only fit. The suit is
molded to appear to be a series of joined
plates. Electronic muscles are visible in
both legs. Joints are visible and armored.
It is obvious that this unit is both a vehicle
and an exoskeleton. A full array of envi-
ronmental and communications devices
can be seen on the rear pack. Power fists
are supplemented by forward-firing gre-
nade launchers. Sides are protected by
shoulder-mounted lasers, and the rear is
protected by a SPLAT system. These weap-
ons could be replaced by whatever weap-
ons are employed in the system you are
playing. Whether it is used for LEGIONS
OF STEEL or a GAMMA WORLD game,
the piece is highly recommended even at
the $8.95 price.

1720 Cl Succubot ****

The Succubot Cl is a 28-mm scale, lead-
ed version of a mechanical centaur
crossed with a mobile command unit. The
expansion book cover shows the unit on
four legs firing, but the figure is molded in
an upright position. Rearing to 35 mm in
height, it has four usable hands. The
framework is a visible mechanical skeleton
with fully jointed limbs. The tail on the
unit is made of interlocking plates and acts
as a support. The legs appear to be simple
hinges with strengthening side plates,
although they are at angles that would
suggest an additional ball and socket is to repair and strengthen it. The legs and humanoid figure rises up from a tower of
present. The upper third of the torso gives torso also twist freely, and multiple twist- individual flames that give the impression
the appearance of being a metalized fe- ing will lead to metal fatigue. This figure they are flickering. The face is almost
male cyborg firing a large pistol and cov- can survive for long periods with a careful elven, complete with pointed ears, almond
ered in plate. The book informs us there is packing job. It can be used in many of eyes and high cheeks. The figure is wear-
no humanity to this figure. My guess near-future games as a cyborg, robot or ing a chain necklace with a jewel. The
would be that the female features were guard. The price is $5.95 for each robot. necklace is framed by dancing, flaming
designed to make a UNE trooper hesitate tendrils of hair. If your wizard likes play-
for a split-second, thus giving the machine Reaper Miniatures ing with fire or elementals, this is a must-
an advantage. 1660 S. Stemmons have piece. Best of all, there was no flash
There was little flash, and the mold line Suite 220, LB11 on the piece and mold lines were built into
was designed to enhance the figure rather Lewisville TX 75067 the whorls. This is an excellent piece and a
than detract from it. If there is a fault with steal at the price of $2.50 for lead, or still a
this piece, it would be its fragile nature. 1216 Fire Elemental good deal at $3.50 for lead-free.
Our miniature came with a crack in the The fire elemental is a 25-mm lead gem
arm holding the pistol, and the arm imme- that can add heat to any AD&D game.
diately fell off when an attempt was made The figure is simple in its construction. A
DRAGON 113
 1248 Lich
This lead lich is scaled for 25 mm, and
measures in at a low 23.5 mm standing
upright on a stone-textured base. The
figure is dressed in full-length robes with a
fur hem and edged long sleeves. The robe
is deeply wrinkled inward from lack of
support, and the body lacks depth when
viewed from the side. This and the skeletal
hands and face reinforce the aura of
death. His left hand is clutching a staff
made of braided wood, while the right
hand raises an amulet strategically placed
at mid-chest. Teeth and skull detail are
good, but could use an ink wash with
black to bring out the shallow separations.
A crown topped with a jewel and a chain
belt are the only ornamentation, although
rings could easily be painted on the bony
fingers. This figure is a good buy at $.90
each for lead or $1.35 for the lead-free
version.
bulky enough for use with most of the
1256 The Evil Eye Lord newer Games Workshop orcs. Also, the
This 25-mm scale lead piece was the obvious mold line on the right arm is hard
original AD&D game beholder from to get at without nicking the flagpole. This
Heritage and should bring back a burst of is still a very good figure that will enjoy an
nostalgia from the older collectors among undetermined spot on my front line. The
us. The figure comes in two halves that go stomach plate circled by a belt. The belt is price of $2.50 is not unreasonable.
together well and is supported by a non- half regular and half disc being joined by a
textured blob and pole. The eyestalks, buckle. The chain is more defined on the 2005 Orc Archer Loading
ropey veins, and leering, crooked mouth back than on the front. Care will have to This heavily armored 28-mm scale lead-
with slime dripping from it are all molded be taken to bring out the separations and free orc piece stands 30 mm tall from the
onto the slightly flattened face. There are detail, especially on the courier pouch and base to the top of his spiked helmet. His
even bloodshot veins on the eye! There arm on the left side. His right hand sup- feet are wrapped in fur-trimmed hide
was no flash nor any detracting mold lines ports a trident-shaped flagpole whose ends strap boots, while his legs are bare from
on the subject piece. are capped in bolted metal cups and knee to mid-thigh. His upper torso is cov-
Even with the difference in quality be- whose center is graced by a gremlin and ered by metal armor with overlapping
tween Ral Parthas version and this figure, skull. The wood poles have grain texture plates on the left shoulder. Neither arm is
this piece is very good when one considers and the standard is 55 mm tall. His left covered, but the right wrist has a spiked
when this figure was designed. For histo- hand holds a well-nicked, battle-worn arm strap and the left has a metal wrist
rys sake it is worth the $4.00 lead price sword. guard secured by straps. His left hand
tag, but Im not sure that I could highly The face is almost more goblin than orc. holds a bow at the ready, while his right
recommend its more expensive lead-free The widely flared ears, crooked nose, and hand reaches for an arrow from his quiv-
version. leering tooth-filled mouth all point toward er. Fingernail detail and individual feather
The finished versions of these three this being a veteran soldier. His hair is detail on the arrows are pluses for this
figures were painted by the people at jammed through a metal ring, forming a figure. A provision pouch on his left and a
Reaper Miniatures. Thanks, folks, and well topknot that keeps the hair from his eyes. sheathed sword on his right are supported
done. There are a couple of small problems, by a disk belt around his waist. The facial
even with all of this detail. The figure is leer is pure orc, although the tooth detail
Heartbreaker slightly too bulky for 25 mm use, but not is not as clear as I would like. Special
Paoli Tech Ent. Cir.
19 E. Central Ave.
Paoli PA 19301

Gamecraft
A16 Gardners Row
Business Ctr., Ltd.
Liverpool L3 6TJ UK

2002 Orc Standard Bearer

This figure is a lead-free miniature
standing 23 mm tall from the rough-
surfaced, slotted base to the top of his
head. Both arms and legs are bare, and
somewhat blocky corded muscle is shown
in appropriate places. Finger and toe detail
is visible, including nails, though the left
hand clenching the sword is very indis-
tinct when compared to the rest of the
figure. The rest of the orcs torso is cov-
ered in chain mail, chest guards, and a
114 JANUARY 1995
touches on this orc include a nose ring, a
ring hanging from the left shoulder armor
plate, a tiny skull hanging from his helmet
ear flap, and last but not least, bags under
his eyes! This could be an archer units
commanding officer. The price is $2.50.
RAFM Company, Inc.
20 Parkhill Road E
Cambridge, Ontario
Canada N1R 1P2
3611 Barbarian Cyclops
(Before work)
Its hard to think of a cyclops as being
anything but a barbarian, and this 55-mm
tall, fine pewter figure supports this view.
The base is molded to represent a rocky
surface, and has a mold line in the middle
and a sprue edge on the underside that
will have to be removed before it will
stand right. The figure is a pot-bellied,
underfed giant striding across the land.
Ribs are visible on the side and chest area,
where there appears to be little muscle.
His arms are bare and exhibit some
smooth muscle. Both hands clutch weap-
ons; a smooth, round rock in the left and a
long, squared wood-grained log with
throng-held spikes driven through it in the
right. Hand detail is fair, but the shallow-
ness will require careful priming. The
upper torso is partially covered by an
over-the-shoulder fur shirt with open sides
secured by a thin belt. A large provision
bag is supported by a buckle and strap
that loop over the base of the right shoul-
der. His wrinkled pants are tucked into
strapped hide boots with the tops folded
over. His head resembles that of an old
monk with a bald pate and surrounding
fringe. He has a stupid expression on his
face which is emphasized by his large
pointed nose. The single eye socket is
surrounded by lids, and the eyeball is
elongated. If you dont want this figure as
DRAGON 115

a cyclops, it would take a little putty and
very little work to make it a two-eyed
giant.
This is a figure with several possibilities,
but there also are several problems not
evident until you remove it from the pack-
age. A hardened mold line runs across the
chest and stomach like an old scar and
extends up the right side of the neck. The
right back of the figure is sunken and
appears to flow into the right arm. In this
same area there is thick flash that will
have to be removed with a Dremel tool or
some other heavy-duty method. This fig-
ure has definite possibilities, but is defin-
itely not a project that can be quickly done
before an encounter. If you dont mind a
lot of work, this could be a nice figure, but
with the amount of work required, the
$6.50 price tag is pushing it.
5852 Coalition Marines in Battle
Dress * * l *'A
This set is a three-member unit scaled to
25 mm and made out of fine pewter. All
three figures are dressed in the same basic
combat suits. The figures main differ-
ences are in weapons, fine detail, and
positioning. All suits are full-bodied,
medium-armored outfits complete with
protected separate joints, shoulder plates,
pockets, and metal gauntlets. Each figure
is wearing an environmental control and
communication pack on its back. All fig
ures have a slightly. raised mold line along
the legs and arms and flash between the
legs in the groin area. The helmets are
basically featureless with closed visors and
a mold line running completely around the
helmet. Two marines are armed with
116 JANUARY 1995
heavy weapons, one holding his gun at
rest and one firing upward. The third
member is armed with a medium weapon
and a grenade launcher in an over-and-
under setup. He also is wearing an ammo
belt over his left side with projectiles for
the launcher. The other troopers are car-
rying assorted pouches in different places
on their belts.
This set will go well with almost any
science-fiction game that requires closed
suits. While there is some cleaning to do,
three troopers for $5.50 is still a bargain. I
highly recommend this set.
Thunderbolt Mountain
Miniatures
656 E. McMillan
Cincinnati OH 45206-1971
1037 The Sorcerers
Apprentice * * * *
This is a must-have gift for the wizard
player in your life, and a constant reminder
of the dangers of overstepping our limits.
The five-piece pewter casting is scaled to 25
mm and requires very little work to assem-
ble. The base is a 60-mm circle molded so
that the top resembles a stone floor with a
raised summoning platform surrounded by
a deeply engraved pentagram and several
small circles. Raised details on the floor
consist of runes, a book, a scroll and scroll
case, a pot, and several spell components
that have fallen over. From these compo-
nents pours a roll of smoke that forms the
lower half of a large demon. The 45 mm-
high demon is standing with his arms
crossed and his hand under his chin, and
seems to be contemplating someones fate.
The leathery wings will require only a light
cleanup and are inserted into a hole in his
back so that the pointy spines line up. If
there is still a gap, use filler as needed. A
belt with a jewel separates his torso from
the smoke, and he is wearing no other
clothes on his muscled body. The twisted
horns and long, pointed ears frame a face
that contains a smirknot the expression
you want to see on a demons face.
The object of amusement is a very
young apprentice dressed in his masters
embroidered robe. There is a look of
anticipation on his face as his hair falls
backward. A simple rope belt binds the
robes while a magic symbol hangs from
his neck, but the funniest part is that the
robe is about six sizes too large for him.
He obviously does not see the demon as he
practices a spell from the book at his feet.
Nor does the demon show up in the gilded
mirror that he is practicing in front of.
There is one major problem that keeps
this miniature from getting five stars: the
demon is not stable. Both sides, the base,
and the body have a socket connection,
but there is no ball. Nor is the belt large
enough to fit over the bottom of the body.
The figure needs to be pinned or a ball
molded into place if it is going to survive
any handling and not break like mine did.
The base also needs to have mold pieces
removed, but the pieces are quite small.
There is also a small line around the base.
I really like this piece in spite of the
problems with the demon. This figure is
worth the $11.95 price tag. To paint the
mirror to look like a mirror, paint the lens
a bright silver then put a thick layer of
gloss coat over it but do not overflow the
edging.
Tactical Conflict Systems Inc.
545 Newport Ave. Suite 155
Pawtucket RI 02861
FP-005-25 Cloaked Traveler with
Lantern + + + l/.&
The traveller is a 25-mm scale lead fig-
ure that is actually 26.5 mm to the eyes.
The figure is dressed in layered robes that
flow out behind as he walks, with the
outside layer slightly open in front. A boot
toe peeks out from beneath the robe as he
moves over the textured, circular base,
and the left foot is obviously pushing at
the robe from the inside. The robes are
secured by a wide belt with large buckle
that also supports an empty sack at the
right rear of the figure. The hands are
indistinct, and either have gloves over used as a toolshed or a dwelling. Its
them or are not highly detailed. The left waffle-textured walls hint at slightly
hand clutches a bag that rides back as he greater strength. A second manor home
steps forward, and in his right hand he with block or large plank walls measures
holds a battered lantern. The face has little 54 mm x 10 mm and has a second story on
detail and is very plain in appearance. A the right half. It would be easy to carve a
layered beard with moustache falls to the door on the left and use it as a store or
belt line. A ragged cowl covers the hair, forge. The last building is a large, one-door
although a few wisps manage to escape. barn 43 mm x 22 mm. There is a loft and
This figure has no flash and no highly the walls appear to be stone, while the
visible mold lines. The bottom of the base, rest is thatch.
however, will need heavy cleaning to The epoxy castings are not heavily de-
remove the sprue ends. The major draw- tailed, but at $5 for six buildings, they are
back of this figure is that many of the well worth the price. This company has a
details are indistinct, or separations arent number of other value packs that will
crisp. These problems could easily be put large numbers of structures on the
masked by careful painting. The low price battleboard for a low price.
of $1.50 per figure makes this a good
practice piece.
If you have any suggestions or com-
907 Euro Houses ments, you can call me at (708)336-0790
People are always looking for buildings after 2P.M. CST M,W,Th,F or 10A.M.-5P.M. S
for micro armor games or BATTLETECH* & S. Or you can write me: Robert Bigelow,
game brawls. This set consists of six 5-mm c/o Friends Hobby Shop, 2411 Washington
scale, old European style houses that could St, Waukegan IL 60085.
represent dwellings of the late medieval
age, the Napoleonic era, or the simple
homes of a backwater agricultural planet. * indicates a product produced by a company other
than TSR, Inc.
The first piece in the set is an L-shaped
manor house 38 mm X 40 mm on the out-
side walls of the L, with a thatched roof, a
set of second-story windows and shutters.
The surface is stone or stucco, and three
chimneys are available for heating. The
next two buildings are slightly different
stone cottages or homes measuring 15-mm
wide x 10-mm deep x 12-mm tall. One
entrance and a number of windows
present firing points, while the walls pro-
vide some protection (but remember that
thatch roofs burn quickly). The fourth
building, an offset thatch house, could be
118 JANUARY 1995
NEW PRODUCTS FOR
JANUARY, 1995
1994 MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM
Annual
An AD&D game accessory
by TSR staff
This is the first update to the MONSTROUS
MANUAL tome and contains every monster
and creature created for the 1994 AD&D game
lines. In addition, this 128-page book includes
hordes of new beasties being introduced for the
first time ever. Keep your creature collection
complete!
$18.00 U.S./$23.00 CAN./10.99 U.K.
TSR Product No.: 2145
City Sites
An AD&D game accessory
Skip Williams
This is the first in a series of products that
provides detailed floorplans of locations that
game characters frequent. This 96-page book
describes virtually every city or town locale
imaginable: stables, inns, smithies, manor
houses, festhalls, jails, and more. Plus, each
setting is fleshed out with details of the NPCs
living or working there.
$12.95 U.S./$16.95 CAN./7.99 U.K.
TSR Product No.: 9464
Howls in the Night
An AD&D game RAVENLOFT
adventure
by Colin McComb
All the horror of a cursed family, haunted
moors, and danger that strikes in the darkness
fills this 32-page adventure for the Masque of
the Red Death and Other Tales variant
RAVENLOFT setting. Plus, the DM can choose
from several alternative endings to best fit her
own campaign.
$6.95 U.S./$8.95 CAN./4.50 U.K.
TSR Product No.: 9466
NEW PRODUCTS FOR
FEBRUARY
The Complete Barbarian
An AD&D game accessory
by Rick Swan
At last, AD&D 2nd Edition game rules for
creating barbarian PCs to rival the most power-
ful figures from fantasy literature are here. This
128-page book contains rules for barbarians of
all PC classes, new skills, details on nonhuman
barbarians, special powers and tricks, and role-
playing advice for the barbarian inside us all.
$18.00 U.S./$23.00 CAN./10.99 U.K.
TSR Product No.: 2148
The Moonsea
An AD&D game FORGOTTEN
REALMS accessory
John Terra
For the first time ever, the Moonsea region
from Zhentil Keep and the Citadel of the Raven
to Ironfang Keep and the Bell in the Depthsis
detailed. This set contains 64- and 32-page books
and a four-color poster map.
$12.95 U.S./$16.95 CAN./7.99 U.K.
TSR Product No.: 9474
Players Survival Kit
An AD&D game MYSTARA accessory
by John D. Rateliff
The first players accessory for the
MYSTARA setting is treasure-trove of game
props and playing aids no bold adventurer
should be without. The set contains an Adven-
ture Log, a guide to heraldry, and a deck of
handy reference cardsincluding Fame &
Fortune cards for those narrow escapes.
$12.95 U.S./$l8.95 CAN.
9.99 U.K. including VAT
TSR Product No.: 2510
DUNGEON MASTER
Survival Kit
An AD&D game MYSTARA accessory
by Steven Schend
Heres a gold mine of playing aids and other
treasures for the MYSTARA setting DM. Includ-
ed is a Campaign Log, a mapping kit with a
template, 20 documents for use in play, and a
deck of cards with Fame & Fortune cards.
$12.95 U.S./$l8.95 CAN.
9.99 U.K. including VAT
TSR Product No.: 2512
American Knights
A GAMMA WORLD ENDLESS QUEST
Book
by Nick Pollota
Three hundred years after civilization de-
stroyed itself, the fate of the worlds
inhabitantshumans, mutants, robots, and
intelligent animals and plantsall depend on the
readers decision-making prowess.
$3.95 U.S./$4.95 CAN./3.99 U.K.
TSR Product No.: 8091
Coming next month . . .
DRAGON Magazine #214
Cover art by Alan Pollack
This issues theme is Elves and includes:
* Uniquely elven magical items.
* Character kits specifically for half-elves.
Plus all our regular columns, reviews, and
features such as Sage Advice, Forum,
Convention Calendar; and the Ecology of
the Owlbear. (Maybe the third time will be
the charm. Sigh.)
$3.95 U.S./$4.95 CAN./1.95 U.K.
TSR Product No. 8112-02
TSR Announces New
Customer Service Lines
TSR, Inc., proudly announces its new
Consumer Services and Store Locator
phone lines. If you have a brief question
about TSRs products, call: 1 (414) 248-
2902. To find the store nearest you that
carries TSR products, call: 1 (800) 384-
4TSR. Hours for these services are:
Weekdays, 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. Central time
Unless otherwise noted:
designates registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.
designates trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.
1994 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Planes of Law The Kagonesti

An AD&D game PLANESCAPE set
by Colin McComb & Wolfgang Baur
From Mount Celestia to the Nine Hells of
Baator, this PLANESCAPE boxed set also de-
scribes Acheron, Mechanus, and Arcadia. This
set includes seven 32-page books, five full-color
poster maps, and 15 adventures. Also detailed
are planar dragons, gear spirits, and the capital
city of the Mercykiller faction.
$30.00 U.S./$39.50 CAN./18.50 U.K.
TSR Product No.: 2607
DRAGONLANCE Lost Histories Series,
Volume I
by Douglas Niles
This novel introduces the newest series of
DRAGONLANCE novels filling the lost chapters
in Krynns history. The Kagonesti resisted the
other elves urge to go to waruntil the War of
the Lance brought dissension and slavery home
to them.
$4.95 U.S./$5.95 CAN./4.99 U.K.
TSR Product No.: 8363

120 JANUARY 1995